{"id":115754,"date":"2025-06-09T05:51:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T09:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=115754"},"modified":"2025-06-09T05:51:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T09:51:06","slug":"press-release-2025-un-ocean-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2025\/06\/press-release-2025-un-ocean-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release | Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Ocean Conference opens with calls for urgent action to safeguard the health of the ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Press Release<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Nice, France, 9 June 2025<\/strong> \u2013 The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica, opened today in Nice with strong calls to accelerate action and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge all countries to come forward with bold pledges,\u201d United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said in his opening remarks to the Conference this morning. \u201cWe live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope,\u201d he said. \u201cHope that we can turn the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Emmanuel Macron of France, also addressing the opening ceremony, said, \u201cwe need to revitalize multilateralism behind the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary General,\u201d adding that, \u201cthe only way to meet that challenge, is to mobilize all actors, heads of state and government speaking here, but also scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Rodrigo Chaves Robles of Costa Rica stated that \u201cthis summit must be remembered as the time when the world understood that looking after the ocean is not simply an option. Rather, it is a moral, economic, and indeed we need minimum protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing together world leaders, scientists, private sector representatives, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the high-level gathering underscores the ocean\u2019s vital role in regulating the climate, sustaining food security and livelihoods, and preserving biodiversity.<\/p>\n

The ocean is under growing pressure from climate change and human activity, with record heat severely impacting marine life, and escalating threats from pollution, overfishing and biodiversity loss pushing marine ecosystems to the brink.<\/p>\n

The Conference is expected to adopt\u00a0an intergovernmentally negotiated\u00a0political declaration, which, along with\u00a0a registry of voluntary commitments from\u00a0across sectors,\u00a0will be referred to as the Nice Ocean Action Plan \u2013 outcomes aimed at catalyzing urgent, inclusive, and science-based action to safeguard the ocean for present and future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time for incremental progress is over. We need billions, not millions, in investment. We need binding commitments that survive political transitions and economic pressures,\u201d United Nations Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, the Conference Secretary-General said at the opening.<\/p>\n

Key issues under discussion during the five-day conference include:<\/p>\n