CIEL Experts at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France

NICE, France, June 4, 2025 — Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) experts will be in Nice, France, from June 9 to June 13, participating in the third UN Ocean Conference and available for comment.

This gathering of over 10,000 participants will address critical issues of ocean health, funding, protection, and sustainable development. Co-hosted by Costa Rica and France, the conference is set to welcome world leaders, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and France’s President Emmanuel Macron.

The world is facing a triple crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Protecting the ocean and safeguarding human rights, including the right to a healthy environment, is now more urgent than ever. 

Research shows how oil and gas activities, as well as mineral resource extractions, harm marine ecosystems at every stage. Halting offshore expansion of such activities is essential for protecting our oceans, addressing climate change, and ensuring biodiversity resilience. Governments must recognize the impact of fossil fuels on the ocean and commit to their phase-out through ocean-based climate mitigation action, according to CIEL.

The ocean is also increasingly being targeted for marine carbon dioxide removals at an unprecedented scale, despite a longstanding moratorium on geoengineering. Civil society organizations are calling on governments to prohibit open water experiments and uphold the existing restrictive governance framework.   

This year’s conference aims to catalyze political leadership and strengthen global commitments to safeguard the world’s oceans. A highlight of the summit will be the anticipated adoption of the Nice Political Declaration on June 13, a framework designed to integrate ocean protection more deeply into national and international policymaking through voluntary commitments.

Participants are also expected to intensify efforts to secure additional ratifications of the High Seas Treaty and to unveil new voluntary pledges that can address key sectors such as energy, shipping, tourism, and industrial fishing. 

Outcomes from the discussions in Nice are also poised to influence the upcoming plastics treaty negotiations in Geneva this August, where nations will also debate a potential global cap on plastic production.

CIEL experts available at the UN Ocean Conference June 9-13:

  • Bruna Campos, Senior Campaigner on Offshore Oil and Gas. Follow Bruna on LinkedIn and BlueSky.
  • Upasana Khatri, Senior Attorney with CIEL’s Climate and Energy Program. Follow Upasana on LinkedIn.
  • Mary Church, Geoengineering Campaign Manager. Follow Mary on BlueSky and LinkedIn.
  • Andres Del Castillo, Senior Attorney, specializes in the plastics treaty. Follow Andrés on LinkedIn and BlueSky.

Media Contacts

  • Niccolò Sarno, CIEL Media Relations (Geneva): [email protected], +41-22-5068037 
  • Cate Bonacini, CIEL Communications Specialist (Washington, DC) for Plastics Treaty inquiries and interviews only: [email protected] +1-510-520-9109

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