UN • 2025-06-13

UN ocean summit in Nice closes with wave of commitments

Ships in the port of Nice sounded their fog-horns on Friday, a brassy crescendo to a rare moment of global unity as the Third UN Ocean Conference drew to a close. Moments earlier, more than 170 countries had adopted by consensus a sweeping political declaration promising urgent action to protect the ocean.

UN • 2025-06-12

‘No Ocean Declaration without small islands’: Delegates push for inclusion as UN summit nears end

With one day remaining before the conclusion of the Third UN Ocean Conference, delegates in Nice are preparing for the adoption of the summit’s eagerly anticipated political declaration. Small island developing States, facing the direct effects of climate change and marine resource decline, are pushing to ensure their perspectives are reflected in global ocean policy.

Independent • 2025-06-12

Oceans have absorbed heat of 1.7 billion atomic bombs, scientists warn

Scientists warn ocean is absorbing heat equivalent to five atomic bomb explosions every second, driving record temperatures, sea ice loss and mass coral bleaching

UN • 2025-06-10

Greed is driving oceans toward collapse

The ocean is under siege – and greed is to blame. UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged world leaders and grassroots groups alike to confront the powerful interests driving marine destruction, from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the accelerating impacts of climate change.

Financial Times • 2025-06-09

Our oceans are in crisis — this is the chance for the world to act

UN Ocean conference in Nice is an opportunity to galvanise multilateral commitments for marine protection

Financial Times • 2025-06-09

Critical minerals race highlights urgency of UN ocean talks

Trump interventions risk overshadowing event, which aims to reach global consensus on marine protection

Los Angeles Times • 2025-06-08

U.N. Ocean Conference sets sail off France on World Oceans Day

Dozens of research and exploration vessels have set sail off the French coastal city of Nice across the Bay of Angels.

UN • 2025-06-09

Guterres calls for an end to ocean ‘plunder’ as UN summit opens in France

With the Mediterranean glittering in the background, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the third United Nations Ocean Conference on Monday, delivering a blunt indictment of humanity’s fractured relationship with the sea.

UN • 2025-06-09

No green without blue: Young ocean explorers set sail for a sustainable future

With science at the forefront of the opening day of the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), UN News boarded a 111-year-old Norwegian tall ship on the French Riviera to meet 50 science students, along with a host of lecturers and citizen scientists fresh from a 46-day expedition. Fueled by satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA), their invaluable observations echo the urgent call to understand and protect the world’s oceans.

Financial Times • 2025-06-09

David Attenborough Ocean film captivates young viewers

Mood at a screening for school children was hopeful despite brutal footage of bottom trawling

Independent • 2025-06-08

Prince William calls for urgent action to save oceans ‘diminishing before our eyes’

‘This challenge is like none we have faced before,’ Prince of Wales says in Monaco speech

Telegraph • 2025-06-08

Prince of Wales: It’s heartbreaking to see what humans have done to the ocean

Prince issues warning over rising sea temperatures, pollution and overfishing in keynote speech to world leaders

The Guardian • 2025-06-14

Is the ocean ‘having a moment’? This was the UN summit where the world woke up to the decline of the seas

A slew of global leaders met in the south of France to discuss the future of the oceans. There was ‘momentum’ and ‘enthusiasm’, but there were critical voices too