The UN Ocean Conference, taking place in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June, will culminate in the establishment of the Nice Ocean Action Plan, which will accelerate action on marine conservation and sustainable usage.
The high-level summit (UNOC3), which is co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, will bring together world leaders, scientists, activists, and business leaders to ‘confront a deepening ocean emergency that scientists warn is nearing a point of no return’, according to the UN.
‘Unprecedented crisis’
“The ocean is facing an unprecedented crisis due to climate change, plastic pollution, ecosystem loss, and the overuse of marine resources,” commented Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, who is also serving as Secretary-General of the event. “We hope the conference will inspire unprecedented ambition, innovative partnerships, and maybe healthy competition.”
The summit aims to address the accelerating crisis facing the world’s oceans, driven by climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing, and biodiversity loss. Around the world, oceans are facing record-high temperatures, and suffering massive coral bleaching and ecosystem degradation, threatening marine species and the billions of people who depend on the sea for food and livelihoods.
It will seek to encourage stakeholders to move beyond declarations toward concrete actions, including voluntary commitments and new partnerships, as well as committing to the Nice Ocean Action Plan.
Nice Ocean Action Plan
The Plan targets protection of at least 30% of marine ecosystems by 2030 – in line with a target set out by the the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022 – accelerated efforts to reduce plastic pollution, curbing illegal fishing, and scaling sustainable ‘blue economies’.
As the UN noted, hundreds of new pledges are expected to build on the more than 2,000 voluntary commitments that have been made since the first ocean summit in 2017, which took place in New York.
“UNOC3 addresses the interconnected crisis facing our oceans,” Li added. Read more here.
