Will the Nice conference be a turning point to save the world’s oceans?

The conference, which is participating in the presidency of France and Costa Rica, takes it upon itself to confront an exacerbated emergency that clouds the surroundings of the world, in light of the whitening of coral reefs, the collapse of fish stocks, and the records of sea temperatures and oceans are records.

Undersecretary of the United Nations Secretary -General for Economic and Social Affairs Lee Gouhua, who is also the Secretary -General of the conference, told United Nations News: “The ocean faces an unprecedented crisis due to climate change, plastic pollution, loss of ecosystem, excessive use of marine resources”..

He expressed his hope that the conference will be inspiring to “Unprecedented ambition, innovative partnerships, and possibly healthy competition”Stressing the need for international cooperation to avoid irreversible damages.

The conference brings together world leaders, scientists, activists and corporate managers to address the growing crisis in the world’s oceans, and the goal is to launch a wave of voluntary pledges, establish new partnerships, as well as enhance the necessary accountability in the field of combating marine deterioration.

The weekly talks culminate in the adoption of a political declaration and the disclosure of the “Nice Oceanic Action Plan”, which aims to keep pace with the size of the crisis and accelerate the work to maintain the oceans and its sustainable use.

Sailor warmer, and whitening for coral reefs

The crisis faced by the oceans is not a far threat, but rather it is happening now. In April, the global sea surface temperatures reached the second highest level ever of that month, according to Copernicus Climate Change Service, which is carried out by the European Center for Medium -range Air predictions.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Sea, the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean are witnessing the widest coral whitening phenomenon in recorded history.

Coral reefs, which houses a quarter of marine species and are mainly for billions of dollars generated by tourism activities and fisheries, fade in front of our eyes. Its collapse may be unleashed in consecutive effects on biological diversity, food security and the ability to adapt to climate change.

The damage extends to what is deeper than that, as the ocean still absorbs more than 90 percent of the extra heat resulting from greenhouse gas emissions, a function that may approach its maximum limits.

The Secretary -General of the conference warned against that “Challenges such as plastic pollution, unjust fishing, loss of biological diversity, ocean acids, and global warming, are all linked to climate change.”.

Chronic financing deficiency

Despite the challenges, there were some remarkable achievements. In 2022, the World Trade Organization concluded a comprehensive agreement to gradually get rid of harmful benefits that feed overfishing, giving a rare glimmer of multilateral torque.

The following year, after decades of stalemate, the countries adopted the Upper Seas Treaty to protect marine life in international waters. This agreement is now scheduled to enter into force at the Nice Summit.

But the UN official warned that the global response in this field is not sufficient.

Also, ocean protection is still suffering from a chronic deficiency in financing, where it receives Goal 14 One of the sustainable development goals, which is “underwater life”, is the lowest resource among The seventeen sustainable development goals Which member states agreed to achieve by 2030.

The cost of protecting and regaining marine environmental systems over the next five years is estimated at about 175 billion dollars annually.

Gowahua indicated that he “Less than $ 10 billion was allocated between 2015 and 2019”Calling for converting ocean financing from just drops to a sweeping torrent.

Nice Oceanic action plan

The topic of the conference – which is to accelerate the work and mobilize all actors to maintain the oceans and use them in a sustainable manner – reflects a shift from statements to implementation.

Over the course of five days, the participants will address major issues, including how to stop unlawful fishing, reduce plastic pollution, and expand the scope of sustainable blue economies. Hundreds of new pledges are expected to be issued, to add to more than 2000 a voluntary commitment that has been cut since the first ocean conference in 2017.

The Nice Action Plan is in line with the Kunming-Montreal global framework for biological diversity, an agreement concluded in 2022 and calls for the protection of at least 30 percent of marine and land environmental systems by 2030.

In addition to the new pledges, the plan will include an official advertisement, which the UN official described as a brief political document and the process of trend.

Gowahua added: “The Political Declaration, led by Australia and the Green Ras, focuses on maintaining ocean -based oceans and sustainable economies, and includes concrete measures to accelerate work.”.

The crisis in numbers – and what the Nice Conference hopes to achieve

• Up to 12 million metric tons of plastic to the ocean annually – equivalent to a garbage truck every minute. At the Nice Conference, the delegates hope to reach a global agreement to address plastic pollution from its source.
• More than 60 percent of the naval ecosystems are deteriorating or unnecessarily used. The conference aims to enhance efforts to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, and to launch a road map to remove carbon from maritime transport.
• Global fish stocks fell within the safe biological borders from 90 percent in the 1970s to only 62 percent in 2021. The conference seeks to pave the way for a new international agreement on sustainable fish traps.
• More than three billion people depend on marine biological diversity in their livelihood. In response, the conference seeks to enhance the financing of blue economies and enhance societal solutions.

From the Nice Conference to the Paris Summit

The timing of the summit is intended. After a decade on Paris Agreement Historical that has set goals to reduce global warming, the Nice Conference seeks to place the ocean at the core of climate work, not as a secondary idea, but as a front battleground.

The Undersecretary of the Secretary -General for Economic and Social Affairs indicated that “The conference addresses the interconnected crisis facing our oceans.”.

The conference also aims to be a mosque by highlighting voices often marginalized in international forums, such as women, indigenous people, fishermen and coastal societies.

Johouwa assured me that “These groups are the first to suffer from the effects of climate change and ocean deterioration. But they are also leaders and are able to solve problems, so they must be enabled.”.

Nice is not just a picturesque background, but rather part of the story. The Mediterranean temperature rises by 20 percent faster than the global average, making it the so -called “hot focus” of the climate.

Whether the conference will generate a real momentum or will make more statements, this will depend on what the countries, companies and societies offer to answer the urgent question, and is the world still able to change that situation?