NICE, France — An international agreement on protecting the world’s oceans could soon enter into force as French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that enough countries have “formally committed” to ratifying the so-called High Seas Treaty.
“While the Earth is warming, the ocean is boiling,” Macron said. “Our scientists are telling us things we could never have imagined: heat waves in the very heart of our oceans. And as the sea rises, in addition to fire, submersion is on the horizon.”
The ocean generates more than half of the planet’s oxygen and absorbs 30 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. But with marine and coastal ecosystems facing multiple threats — including the impact of climate change as well as pressures from fishing and pollution — that could all change. Ocean oxygen content is decreasing globally, according to a 2024 UNESCO report, and ocean warming is happening at an unprecedented and accelerating rate.
“The ocean is our greatest ally, whether you live here in Europe, or anywhere in the world,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “But if we neglect the ocean, if we treat it without respect, it will turn against us,” she added, pointing to the “ever more violent storms [that] ravage our coasts.”
Macron and von der Leyen spoke at the third United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC) in Nice, France, where delegations from more than 120 countries, including more than 50 heads of state and government, are gathered in an attempt to resuscitate the world’s long-suffering oceans.
The High Seas Treaty — or the the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), as it’s officially known — sets standards for the creation of marine protected areas in international waters, among other measures. It can only be implemented once at least 60 countries have officially ratified it.
The agreement will, supporters hope, go a long way toward protecting 30 percent of the planet’s lands and seas by 2030 as foreseen in the COP15 biodiversity agreement reached in December.
Thanks to 15 countries which have newly “formally committed to joining” — on top of the 50 or so ratifications already submitted — the High Seas Treaty will soon be implemented, Macron said Monday morning.
“So that’s a win,” he said.
Our greatest ally
The French president was flanked by von der Leyen, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres and Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves, who is cohosting the conference.
“The sea is our first ally against global warming ,” Macron said in his opening speech.
“Today, we are inches away from the 60 signatures for ratification,” said von der Leyen. “So to bring the High Seas Treaty to life, Europe will contribute €40 million to the Global Ocean Programme. So I ask you all today: Please speed up ratification, because our ocean needs us to play [our] part.”
The EU ratified the treaty last month. Lula, in his own opening speech Monday, announced that Brazil would also soon be ratifying the treaty.
Environmental groups are encouraged by Macron’s announcement, which follows weeks of speculation over whether the 60-country threshold for ratification would be reached in Nice.
“Countries have finally stopped dragging their feet and it is hoped we can now move forward with protection of one of the most important areas for biodiversity on Earth — the high seas,” said Catherine Weller, global policy director for Fauna & Flora.
“We now need those countries that have committed to ratification to get the final technicalities over the line — and then the real work needs to begin,” she added.
Weller urged leaders to follow “best practices” in designing connected networks of “high-quality, well-managed” marine protected areas. They should safeguard the migratory routes of critically endangered species like whales and sharks, for example.
Elephant (not) in the room
The United States is conspicuous in its absence from Nice, having decided to skip the conference, as reported by POLITICO last week. A State Department spokesperson said the conference is “at odds” with positions held by the current U.S. administration.
The conference, which ends Friday, is an opportunity for countries to discuss and present new agreements on topics from environmental financing and deep-sea mining to illegal fishing and bottom-trawling.
The summit aims to promote enduring uses of ocean resources — one of 17 sustainable development goals held by the United Nations. But the Trump administration has rejected those goals, calling them “inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty.”
Macron took a dig at the absent delegation, flaunting a new scientific program aimed at exploring the world’s oceans — the “Neptune Mission” — while the U.S. schemes to send astronauts to plant its flag on Mars.
“Rather than rushing off to Mars, let’s already get to know our final frontier and our best friend, the ocean,” said Macron.
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