“Nothing is more important than the Ocean”, says David Attenborough with his latest film “Ocean” . After the film was released May 8, 2025, coinciding with Attenborough’s 99th birthday, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference was held in Nice, France, from 9 – 13 June 2025, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica – the high-level 2025 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. UNOC3 was hosted under the auspices of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Sixty heads of state attended, along with 190 ministers, approximately 4,000 government officials, and 6,000 participants from civil society, science, hundreds of nature conservation NGOs (such as WWF, OceanCare, WCS, TNC), businesses, philanthropic bodies, Indigenous peoples, academia, UN agencies, and financial institutions. Organizations such as the OECD, UNDP, FAO, IUCN, IDDRI, the private sector, and local communities were engaged through plenaries, panels, and side events. A group of over 200 NGOs (208 signatories) issued a joint letter calling for a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration ahead of the conference.
Co-hosted by France and Costa, UNOC3 took place in Nice from 9 – 13 June 2025.
UNOC3 was certainly a huge event with many positive initiatives. But did the results match the effort and expectations, and did they do justice to the urgency and importance of marine conservation? Here are a few assessments, and perhaps our readers can add more:
OceanCare, for example, has concluded, and while acknowledging important progress that this is “only a step forward in the urgent work that lies ahead to protect the Ocean. “On the positive side they “saw growing international momentum for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of the next International Seabed Authority meeting, reinforced calls for a strong and binding Global Plastics Treaty ahead of the resumed last round of negotiations in Geneva, and ongoing efforts to ensure the High Seas Treaty enters into force as soon as possible.”
OceanCare emphasized also that “37 States formed a new High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean — an encouraging sign of rising political will to address underwater noise pollution.”
Here is a short summary of selected outcomes of UNOC3, provided by ChatGPT, based on various given sources:
Regarding the Deep‑Sea Mining Moratorium there was
- Growing calls for pause: At least 37 countries, including Cyprus, the Marshall Islands, and Latvia, supported a precautionary pause or moratorium on deep‑sea mining.
- U.S. pushback highlighted: This move was seen as a direct response to U.S. steps to expedite seabed mining, pushing international pressure via the International Seabed Authority meetings in July.
Regarding the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty the following progress was noted:
- Ratifications surged: 18 additional countries ratified the High Seas Treaty in Nice (total ~49), just shy of the 60 needed for it to enter into force—and there are strong expectations that threshold will be reached by late 2025, triggering legal activation after a 120‑day countdown.
- India and UK pledges: India committed to ratify the Treaty, and the UK confirmed it will introduce a ratification bill by end of 2025 .
- Momentum toward 30×30 goal: The treaty is central for enabling Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in international waters, supporting the target to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
Regarding Marine Protected Areas & Bottom Trawling one can note:
- French Polynesia’s pledge: Established a new marine reserve of ~5 million km², strictly protecting 20% (no trawling or mining).
- France’s limited action: France announced a plan to “limit” bottom trawling in its waters—sparking criticism from environmental groups, including Alexandra Cousteau, for falling short of a full ban.
Please write to us if you see any other significant steps towards achieving SDG 14 that have been brought about by UNOC3.
