This week Nice becomes the world epicenter in the protection of the oceanos. And it is that from today to day 13 the French city hosts the third United Nations conference on the oceans (UNOC3) with a clear objective that is none other than to deal with a growing ocean emergency that, if it is not changed, goes to a point of no return.
The appointment of the UNOC3 will serve to gather world leaders, scientists, activists and entrepreneurs so that they all collaborate to deal with the growing crisis of the oceans.
The goal is more than clear: to carry out a “wave of voluntary commitments, forge new associations and, if the organizers get it, inject a very necessary dose of responsibility in the fight against marine degradation.”
The protection of the Oceanos, protagonist in Nice
From June 9 to 13, the coastal city of Nice will host the third United Nations conference on the oceans (UNOC3), A high -level summit co -presided by France and Costa Rica. Its mission: dealing with a growing ocean emergency that, as scientists warn, approaches a point of no return.
“The ocean faces an unprecedented crisis due to climate change, plastic pollution, the loss of ecosystems and the overexploitation of marine resources,” UN Li Junhua, a high UN official who acts as general secretary of the event, told news. “We hope that the conference inspires an unprecedented ambition, innovative associations and, perhaps, a healthy competition,” He added, underlining the need for international cooperation to avoid irreversible damage.
The pressure is running. The UNOC3 It brings together world leaders, scientists, activists and businessmen to deal with the growing crisis of the oceans.
The objective: trigger a wave of voluntary commitments, forge new associations and, if the organizers achieve it, inject a very necessary dose of responsibility in the fight against marine degradation.
The conversations, one week, will culminate with the adoption of a political declaration and the presentation of the Nice Action Plan about the oceans, an effort to deal with the magnitude of the crisis, and Accelerate the conservation and sustainable use measures of the oceans.
Oceans who heat up, reefs that are bleached
The crisis is not a distant threat: it is happening now. In April, the sea surface temperature reached its second highest in history for that month, according to the Copernicus climate change service of the European Union. Meanwhile, the greatest discoloration of corals in history is taking place, which is sweeping the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Pacific parts. More than an isolated event, it is a global disaster.
The coral reefs, which house a quarter of all marine species and support billions in tourism and fishing, are disappearing before our eyes. Its collapse could trigger cascade effects on biodiversity, food security and climate change resistance.
The damage is even greater. The ocean continues to absorb more than 90% of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, a worldwide service that may be reaching its limit.
“Challenges such as plastic pollution, overfishing, loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification and warming are all related to climate change,” Li warned. It is calculated that 60% of marine ecosystems in the world have been degraded or used unsustainably.
However, notable advances have been produced. In 2022, the World Trade Organization reached a high -range agreement to gradually eliminate harmful subsidies that feed the overfishing, offering a rare muttering of multilateral resolution.
The following year, after decades of stagnation, the nations adopted the High seas treaty, Known for the BBNJ abbreviation, to safeguard marine life in international waters. This expected agreement is about to enter into force in the Nice Summit.
But politics alone cannot reverse an ecosystem in free fall. “The worldwide answer is insufficient,” Li Junhua warned. In other words, advances not only depend on the political will, but also on the necessary resources.
Despite its vital role in the regulation of life on Earth, producing half of our oxygen and cushioning the climatic extremes, The ocean has a lack of chronic financing. The sustainable development objective number 14, life under water, is the one that receives the least resources of the 17 Global Objectives of the UN that the Member States agreed to fulfill by 2030.
The estimated cost to protect and restore marine ecosystems in the next five years is 175,000 million dollars annually. “But between 2015 and 2019, less than 10,000 million dollars were assigned,” Li said, pointing out the need for ocean financing to go from dripping to the torrent.
This ambition constitutes the core of the objectives of the conference.
Nice’s action plan on the oceans
The issue of UNOC3, accelerate the action and mobilize all agents to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, reflects the passage of statements to the results.
Throughout five days, participants will address the big issues: how to stop illegal fishing, reduce plastic pollution and expand sustainable blue economies. It is expected that hundreds of new promises will be based on the more than 2000 voluntary commitments acquired from the first summit on the 2017 oceans.
Nice’s action plan on the oceans will align with the Global framework for Kunming-Montreal biodiversitya 2022 agreement that asks for the protection of at least 30% of marine and land ecosystems by 2030.
Together with the new commitments, the plan will include an official statement, which Li described as a document “concise” politician and “action oriented.”
“The project of political declaration, led by Australia and Cabo Verde, focuses on the conservation of the oceans and sustainable economies based on them, and includes concrete measures to accelerate the action,” said the UN official. The rapid loss of biodiversity Threatens the livelihood of 3000 million people, including coastal communities.
Up to 12 million plastic metric tons enter the ocean every year, the equivalent of a garbage truck every minute. In Niza, delegates expect to advance in a world agreement to tackle contamination by plastics in their origin. More than 60% of marine ecosystems are degraded or used unsustainably. The summit aims to boost efforts to protect 30% of the oceans from here to 2030 and start a road map to decarbonize maritime transport.
World fish populations within safe biological limits have collapsed 90% in the 1970s to only 62% in 2021. Nice hopes to pave the way for a new international agreement on sustainable fishing. More than 3000 million people depend on marine biodiversity for subsistence. In response, the summit aims to boost the financing of blue economies and promote community solutions since in the small island states in development, The ocean is not only an economic engine, but a lifeguard.
The moment chosen for the summit is intentionally. A decade after the historic Paris agreement established objectives to limit global warming, the UNOC3 is pressing to place the ocean in the center of climate action, not as something secondary, but as a battlefield in the front line. “The UNOC3 addresses the interconnected crisis that our oceans face,” Li said.
The summit also intends to be integrative, highlighting voices often marginalized in world forums, such as women, indigenous people, fishermen and coastal communities. “These groups are the first to suffer the effects of climate change and the degradation of the oceans,” said Li. “But they are also leaders and problem solving, so you have to give them power.”
A crucial moment for oceans
Nice is not just a backdrop: it is part of the story. The Mediterranean is heating 20% faster than the world average, which makes it a climate “hot point”. For many, the location only sharpens what is at stake.
That the conference generates a real impulse or simply more statements will depend on what countries, companies and communities put on the table.
While delegates descend through the sunny coast of Nice, the sea gently bathes the shores. But the question that arises with the tide is anything less soft: Can the world go around the situation?