2025 UN Ocean Conference

Monday 9 June 2025 - Friday 13 June 2025

Location: Nice, France

Nice, France, 9 – 13 June

PML experts will join Heads of Government and State together with leaders from intergovernmental organisations, the United Nations system, civil society, private sector, young people and other partners in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June, for the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference.

The Conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, will be focused on “Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.

It will seek to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14), with three main priorities, to adopt an ambitious ‘Nice Ocean Action Plan’:

Priority 1: Working towards completion of multilateral processes linked to the ocean
Priority 2: Mobilising 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

Taking place at the midway point of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), it will also be the first UN Ocean Conference since the adoption of the legal agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity (the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework and the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction), as well as discussions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. The conference will also emphasise the interconnectedness and contributions of ocean action across all Sustainable Development Goals.

PML experts are organising and taking part in a busy schedule of events of which we have highlighted some below; these include two official UNOC3 off-site side events in addition to a number of other events. For any questions about PML and its UNOC engagement please email the Deputy Head of our International Office.

Official UNOC3 PML side events:

12 June 12:00 – 13:30: Ocean Futures 2030: addressing the gaps in implementing the BBNJ agreement

12 June 16:00- 16:45: Uncertain Waters: Confronting controversies, enabling change, please register via this website

Further Green Zone PML partner and speaker side events:

9 June 14:00 – 17:00: Science to Action on SDG 14.3: An introduction to co-designing ocean acidification research for decision making under the UN Decade of ocean science

10 June 09:00 – 09:45: JOIN ONLINE – CLICK HERE Harnessing Earth Observation data across the satellite era to assess the state of the ocean

10 June 10:00 – 11:00: JOIN ONLINE – CLICK HERE COP30 Virtual Ocean Pavilion launch

10 June 10:00 – 13:00: Challenger 150: Mapping life in the Atlantic – coordination of Atlantic deep-sea biological research (by invitation only)

10 June 12:45: ‘Reds for Blue’ –AXA Research Fund Panel in La Agora, La Baleine

10 June 14:00 – 15:00: Addressing and Minimising Ocean Acidification – Success stories, opportunities and new commitments

11 June 11:15 – 12:15: From Global to Local: Harnessing ocean science for concrete impact

12 June 17:30 – 19:00: The Ocean and Planetary Boundaries: Unlocking a Deeper Vision for the Earth’s Future