World leaders arrive in France for UN summit on ocean threats
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Rift over oceans: Macron rebukes climate change deniers ahead of Nice summit
The final day of the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) closed with leaders pledging their support and calling for global responsibility to protect the oceans. A major focus of the weeklong summit was the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, which would enable conservation in international waters. The forum is the precursor to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice, where more than 50 world leaders are expected to attend. The US administration will not send representatives.
William, Prince of Wales, said the challenge of protecting the world’s oceans was “like none that we have faced before” and that the clock is ticking:
“I believe that urgency and optimism have the power to bring about the action needed to change the course of history. I’m an optimist because as the founder of the Earthshot Prize, I see the incredible examples of the ideas, innovations and technologies that are harnessing the power of the ocean whilst protecting its vitality.”
“Watching human activity reduce beautiful sea forests to barren deserts, the base of our oceans is simply heart-breaking for many. It is an urgent wake-up call to just what is going on in our oceans, but it can no longer be a matter of out of sight, out of mind. The need to act to protect our ocean is now in full view, as ever,” Prince William added.
Not ‘a matter of opinion’
Meanwhile, in his closing speech, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised countries that deny climate change and cut budgets on this matter.
“We’ve been hearing that, basically, climate change, the threat to biodiversity, the issue of the oceans, all of that, is a matter of opinion,” Macron said. He continued:
“I’m going to tell you: no, we don’t have the right to do that because it’s not an opinion, but it’s scientifically established.”
The French president also hinted at potential developments in the near future:
“We have a duty to mobilise because the science is clear and the facts are there. There is no inevitability. And so, with a few governments, we will in the coming days make strong decisions and mobilise the international community.”
A major focus of the weeklong summit was the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, which would enable conservation in international waters.
The forum is the precursor to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice, where more than 50 world leaders are expected to attend. The US administration will not send representatives.
World leaders head to France for UN summit on ocean threats
The UN Ocean Conference must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing. 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei. France has deployed 5,000 police officers to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers.
The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them.
The UN Ocean Conference must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions.
Some 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to sail to Nice from Monaco, where he is attending a related event aimed at raising private capital for ocean conservation.
He will be joined on the shimmering Mediterranean Sea by other vessels in a colourful maritime parade, before touring an exhibition centre on land transformed into the cavernous belly of a whale.
That evening, Macron will host leaders for a dinner of Mediterranean fish ahead of the summit’s formal opening on Monday.
Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police officers to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers.
A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threaten their very survival.
The United States under President Donald Trump – whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage – is not expected to send a delegation.
World leaders arrive in France for UN summit on ocean threats
The UN Ocean Conference (Unoc-3), hosted jointly by France and Costa Rica, must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing. French President Emmanuel Macron told a blue finance forum in Monaco that the world has “a duty to mobilise” The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money.
World leaders began gathering in Nice on the French Riviera on Sunday ahead of a United Nations summit to tackle a deepening crisis in the oceans driven by overfishing, climate change and pollution. Ahead of the opening, French President Emmanuel Macron told a blue finance forum in Monaco that the world has “a duty to mobilise”.
The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them.
The UN Ocean Conference (Unoc-3), hosted jointly by France and Costa Rica, must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions.
“We have a duty to mobilise because the science is clear and the facts are there,” declared Macron on Sunday, during a visit to Monaco, at the closing of a forum on the blue economy and finance.
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“There is the possibility of sustainable fishing. There is the possibility of sustainable maritime transport. There is the possibility of sustainable tourism,” Macron insisted.
Planet in danger
“The planet can no longer tolerate broken promises,” warned Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, whose country will host the UN environment summit Cop30 in November.
“Either we act, or the planet is in danger,” he insisted.
Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target.
Read more on RFI English
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