UNOC 2025: Where Does International Cooperation For Oceans Stand?

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference is critical for international ocean cooperation, bringing together global stakeholders to address the ocean polycrisis through the theme: “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.” UNOC 2025 occurs at a pivotal moment following the adoption of landmark agreements. The conference aims to produce the “Nice Ocean Action Plan” and a political declaration.

by Numa Poudevigne

The “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”; UNOC 2025 will be co-hosted by the governments of France and Costa Rica [1]. Scheduled for Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025, the conference will bring together Heads of State and Government, UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, scientists, private sector representatives, philanthropic organizations, indigenous peoples, and local communities [1]. The overarching theme, “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean,” underscores the urgency of the situation [1,6,8].

Oceans face a polycrisis: an estimated 5-12 million tonnes of plastic enter annually, and only 62.3% of global fish stocks are sustainably managed [3,4,7]. Moreover, 60% of marine ecosystems are degraded, with over 50% of marine species potentially facing extinction by 2100.

The Nice Ocean Agreement may serve as an ocean counterpart to the Paris Climate Agreement, establishing a framework that brings together the scientific community to inform and guide the ocean-related actions of Heads of States and Government, much like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) does for climate change, thereby providing a structured foundation for global ocean governance [11].

How Does UNOC 2025 Aim to Drive Change?

The conference structure is designed to foster dialogue and lead to concrete outcomes. It will include plenary sessions and ten multi-stakeholder “Ocean Action Panels.” These panels will address themes such as conserving marine ecosystems, fostering sustainable fisheries, preventing marine pollution, mobilizing finance, leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages, and implementing international law like UNCLOS [2,6].

The primary expected outcomes are twofold [2] :

1. An Action Plan: The “Nice Ocean Action Plan,” comprising a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from all stakeholders. Conference materials emphasize that this Plan will be structured to address three main priorities [8,9] :

– Priority 1: Working towards completion of multilateral processes linked to the ocean

– Priority 2: Mobilizing finance resources for the SDG14 and supporting the development of a sustainable blue economy

– Priority 3: Strengthen and better disseminate knowledge linked to marine sciences to enhance policy-making

2. A Public Declaration: The “Nice Ocean Action Declaration,” a political statement currently being negotiated by UN member states, with Australia and Cape Verde co-facilitating the process. A draft was issued in late 2024, aiming for consensus by May 2025.

Three core priorities will guide the discussions: completing ongoing multilateral ocean-related processes; mobilizing sufficient finance for SDG14 and a sustainable blue economy; and strengthening the dissemination of marine science to inform policy [5,8,9]. Several pre-conference events, including the One Ocean Science Congress and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, will help build momentum [2,5].

Key technical challenges will include accelerating High Seas Treaty ratification to protect biodiversity in areas covering nearly half the planet’s surface, decarbonizing the shipping industry responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, addressing ocean acidification through emissions reduction strategies, and strengthening the science-policy interface [10].

Evolution From Previous Conferences

UNOC 2025 builds strategically upon foundations laid in 2017 and 2022, marking only the third iteration of this relatively young international conference — in contrast to more established frameworks like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) which have decades of precedent [1]. The inaugural 2017 New York conference, co-hosted by Sweden and Fiji, established the voluntary commitments framework. The 2022 Lisbon summit, organized by Portugal and Kenya, shifted focus toward science-policy integration and produced the “Lisbon Declaration”, emphasizing ocean-climate linkages. This nascent status of the UN Ocean Conference series underscores both the growing recognition of ocean governance as a distinct policy domain and the urgent need to rapidly mature international ocean cooperation mechanisms.

The 2025 conference is comes at a critical point, as it represents the first major ocean summit since the adoption of several landmark agreements including the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (committing to protect 30% of oceans by 2030), and ongoing global plastic pollution treaty negotiations. 

This shift from negotiating new frameworks to operationalizing existing commitments positions UNOC 2025 as a critical test of whether the international community can translate ambitious ocean governance agreements into tangible action [6].

Looking Toward 2030 and Beyond

As the SDG framework approaches its 2030 conclusion, UNOC 2025 could establish foundations for post-2030 ocean governance. 

Despite this progress, persistent challenges remain across all three conferences. SDG 14 continues as one of the least funded Sustainable Development Goals [7], while implementation of previous commitments shows mixed results. The consensus-driven nature of UN processes often dilutes ambitious targets, presenting ongoing diplomatic challenges.

The consensus-driven nature of UN processes often dilutes ambitious targets and excludes contentious issues entirely — exemplified by the 2025 conference’s draft declaration omitting any reference to deep-sea mining due to lack of consensus, even as the U.S. considers expanding seabed mineral extraction operations [12].

Future ocean governance will likely grapple with emerging challenges, including deep-sea mining regulation, marine geoengineering proposals, and ocean-based climate solutions. The intersection of artificial intelligence with ocean monitoring may reshape scientific cooperation, while growing recognition of indigenous knowledge systems could transform marine conservation approaches [13, 14].

References:

[1] United Nations Civil Society, ‘2025 UN Ocean Conference’, United Nations. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://www.un.org/en/civil-society/un-ocean-conference
[2] LetsBeNicetotheOcean, ‘UNOC3 Nice 2025 (FAQs) UN Ocean Conference’. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://letsbenicetotheocean.org/unoc3-nice-2025-faq/
[3] OCEANA Europe, ‘UN alert: Mediterranean is world’s most overfished sea’, Oceana Europe. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://europe.oceana.org/press-releases/un-alert-mediterranean-worlds-most-overfished-sea/
[4] The Environmental Literacy Council, ‘What ocean has the most overfishing?’, The Environmental Literacy Council. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://enviroliteracy.org/what-ocean-has-the-most-overfishing/
[5] UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, ‘L’Océan au coeur d’un sommet international à Nice’, ONU France. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://unric.org/fr/conference-des-nations-unies-sur-locean/
[6] UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, ‘Fiche d’information Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’Océan’, unric.org. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://e4k4c4x9.delivery.rocketcdn.me/fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Fiche_d_information_ConfC3A9rence_des_Nations_Unies_sur_les_ocC3A9ans_.pdf
[7] UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, ‘Faits et chiffres Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’Océan’, unric.org. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://e4k4c4x9.delivery.rocketcdn.me/fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Fait_et_chiffres_ConfC3A9rence_des_Nations_Unies_sur_les_ocC3A9ans_.pdf
[8] Ocean Decade, ‘2025 United Nations Ocean Conference’, Ocean Decade. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://oceandecade.org/events/2025-united-nations-ocean-conference/
[9] UNESCO, ‘2025 United Nations Ocean Conference’. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/2025-united-nations-ocean-conference
[10] UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION, ‘2025 UN Ocean Conference’, unfoundation.org. Accessed: May 26, 2025. Available: https://unfoundation.org/2025-un-ocean-conference/
[11] France Diplomacy, ‘Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) (Nice, 9-13 June 2025)’. Accessed: Jun. 01, 2025. Available: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/climate-and-environment/protecting-the-environment-and-combating-pollution/third-un-ocean-conference-unoc3-nice-9-13-june-2025-65853/
[12] ‘World’s nations to gather in France to tackle what UN says is a global emergency in the oceans’, AP News. Accessed: Jun. 01, 2025. Available: https://apnews.com/article/un-world-oceans-conference-climate-pollution-seas-6969234ea689e92784e1b3662d6191e4
[13] E. M. Ditria, C. A. Buelow, M. Gonzalez-Rivero, and R. M. Connolly, ‘Artificial intelligence and automated monitoring for assisting conservation of marine ecosystems: A perspective’, Front. Mar. Sci., vol. 9, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.918104.
[14] B. Fruean and B. Fruean, ‘Pacific Islanders are fighting to protect the ocean. Now the world must, too’, Reuters, May 29, 2025. Accessed: Jun. 01, 2025. Available: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/pacific-islanders-are-fighting-protect-ocean-now-world-must-too-2025-05-29/