World leaders converged on the French Riviera on Sunday in preparation for the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, a high-level meeting on addressing the world’s oceans growing crisis. The conference is coming at the time of rising global calls to act on overfishing, ocean pollution, and weak marine protections.
Scheduled to start on Monday, the five-day conference is looking to gain concrete financial pledges and stronger conservation measures as the UN warns of an “emergency” for the health of the oceans. French President Emmanuel Macron, during an opening reception in Monaco ahead of the conference, underlined the urgency for action, saying, “The science is clear, and the facts are undeniable.”
Over 60 heads of state and government will be present, such as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Javier Milei. Lula admonished, “The planet can no longer afford broken promises. Either we act, or the planet is in danger.”
Macron will also visit the whale-themed conference center in Nice and present a Mediterranean seafood banquet to world leaders. Security has been tightened with the deployment of 5,000 police officers.
Representatives from the Pacific Island countries are in numbers, calling on wealthier countries to issue funding to assist them in the battle against increasing sea levels, ocean pollution, and overfished oceans. The US is not present at the summit after controversy regarding President Donald Trump’s call for faster deep-sea mining.
While the UK and France have committed new bottom trawling restriction on protected waters, more is needed, according to environmentalists. Just 8% of oceans are already being protected, short of the 30% that nearly 200 nations agreed to protect by 2030.
Samoa recently declared new ocean reserves that spanned 30% of its waters, raising the hopes for a similar commitment at the summit. France is also garnering support for a deep-sea mining moratorium.
