UNOC3 Day #4 Momentum Builds Toward a Regenerative Ocean Future

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice from June 9-13, continued its critical work on Day 4, June 12.

The call to “accelerate action and mobilize all actors” echoed louder than ever. With the clock ticking on global ocean targets, leaders from science, policy, and business converged on Thursday, June 12, to push forward a shared vision for a healthy, productive, and equitably governed ocean.

Building on the urgency of Sustainable Development Goal 14, Day 4 spotlighted the ocean’s critical role in confronting the twin crises of climate and biodiversity. The general debate continued alongside a dynamic series of panels and side events that explored practical pathways for aligning marine protection with sustainable finance, regional cooperation, and inclusive development.

Whether advancing marine ecosystem restoration, unlocking finance for coastal resilience, or scaling cross-border solutions to reduce ocean stressors, the tone was clear: implementation must match ambition.

Leveraging Ocean, Climate, and Biodiversity Interlinkages

A significant focus of Day 4 was Ocean Action Panel 7, titled “Leveraging ocean, climate and biodiversity interlinkages”. Discussions aimed to strengthen the ocean’s role in climate change mitigation and adaptation through UN processes like Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

The panel explored how climate and biodiversity goals can be integrated into ocean-related international forums such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and how SDG 14 targets can be further woven into climate and biodiversity discussions.

📌 Key Insights

• Interconnected Crises: Ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation are intensifying biodiversity loss, destabilizing marine ecosystems and food security .
• Policy Fragmentation: Governance remains siloed—climate, ocean, and biodiversity frameworks operate in isolation, diminishing overall efficacy .
• Financial Shortfalls: Despite their ecosystem value, coastal and marine habitats like mangroves and seagrasses are underfunded.
• Fossil Fuel Impacts: Offshore oil and gas were flagged as major drivers of marine pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;

💡 Transformative Solutions Proposed

• Integrated Ocean–Climate–Biodiversity Action Plans
  Develop cohesive, cross-thematic strategies that mutually reinforce conservation, resilience, and mitigation goals.
• Inclusive Governance
  Ensure meaningful participation of women, Indigenous Peoples, and coastal communities in decision-making and policy design
• Nature-Based Investment
  Scale funding for ecosystem restoration—especially blue carbon habitats—through innovative finance mechanisms
• Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
  Implement moratoria and a just transition away from offshore oil and gas to curb climate impacts and safeguard marine life
• Science-Policy Integration: Improve marine spatial planning and strengthen alignment across bodies like the IMO, FAO, UNEP, and UNFCCC
• Catalyzing Finance Flows: Redirect subsidies away from harmful fossil fuel extraction and scale investments in marine conservation and ecosystem-based solutions
• Global Framework Synergy: Leverage recent treaties—like the High Seas BBNJ agreement and the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity pact—to drive cohesive action and policy coherence

Ocean Action Panel 8: “Promoting and Supporting All Forms of Cooperation, Especially at Regional and Sub-regional Level

This panel emphasized that effective regional and sub-regional collaboration is vital to translating global ocean frameworks into concrete, local action. Such cooperation enhances capacity, fosters shared governance, and tackles complex marine challenges.

🌐 Key Insights

• Ecosystem-based Regional Governance: Successful models like the Benguela Current Commission and the Nairobi Convention
• Collaborative Science & Policy Integration: Cross-border scientific cooperation like IORA’s Blue Economy platform
• Sharing Best Practices & Capacity Building. via regional seas and coastal
• Aligning with Global Frameworks Cooperative sub-regional governance strengthens compliance with the High Seas Treaty, UNCLOS, and the 30×30 marine protection targets,

📈 Actionable Solutions Proposed

• Expand Regional Treaties & Commission Funding
  Provide dedicated resources for institutions like the Benguela Current Commission to jointly manage fisheries, biodiversity, and pollution.
• Regional Data & Science Platforms
  Build shared data infrastructure (e.g., regional marine research networks) to coordinate monitoring, inform policy, and respond to ecosystem threats.
• Multilateral Capacity-Building Programs
  Offer joint scholarships, technical training, and community exchanges targeting marine spatial planning, enforcement, and climate resilience.
• Cross-border Conservation Networks
  Implement coordinated MPAs and promote joint patrols, surveillance, and fisheries management to reduce gaps in ocean protection.

Mobilizing Finance for a Regenerative Ocean Economy

Another crucial panel on June 12 was “Driving a Regenerative Ocean Economy: Aligning Business, Policy, and Finance for Impact”. This session explored how business-led action, supported by policy and finance, can scale ocean-positive impact and advance SDG 14 and broader biodiversity goals.

🌐Key Takeaway: Ocean Finance = Triple-Win Opportunity

The panel centered around the “One Ocean Finance” initiative an ambitious framework to:

• Enable coastal communities to lead their own regenerative futures
• Mobilize billions in blue capital from ocean-dependent industries
• Scale nature-based investments in ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, and reefs

💼 Mechanisms Underway:

• User fees from shipping, ports, tourism & insurance sectors
• Payments for ecosystem services to incentivize restoration and protection
• De-risked investment platforms for scalable, blended finance in marine infrastructure, conservation, and livelihoods

🔍 Why It Matters:

• Potential of 51 million new jobs by 2050: Many in resilience-building sectors
• Global equity lens: Channeling funds to where they are most needed Small Island Developing States and vulnerable coastal nations
• Business transition: Helping legacy industries pivot to sustainable models, backed by policy and financial innovation

Other Key Discussions

Day 4 also included discussions on:

• Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR): A side event highlighted global collaborative research on mCDR approaches, risks, co-benefits, and governance, and its relationship with SDG 14.  
• Deltas of the World: A high-level event co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Vietnam and the President of Iraq focused on issues specific to deltas, which are particularly affected by climate change, and promoted innovative solutions.  
• Coral Reefs: Events such as “Coral Reefs and People: Honouring Culture and Advancing Conservation Action for the Pacific Islands” and the launch of “The Status and Trends of Coral Reefs in the Pacific: 2024” presented data and called for urgent action to protect these vital ecosystems.  
• Regional MPAs: An official side event highlighted the Regional Collaborative Network of Marine Protected Areas for the East Asian Seas as a platform for joint action and knowledge exchange to accelerate progress towards SDG 14 and the 30×30 target

🔍 Summary and key commitments announced

🔹 “One Ocean Finance” initiative with the potential to create 51 million new jobs by 2050

🔹 Colombia committed to restore 13,000 hectares of mangroves vital carbon sinks and coastal buffers.

🔹 The International Seabed Authority confirms $260M invested in deep-sea environmental research; 1.19M km² of seabed now shielded from exploitation.

🔹 The International Whaling Commission raised alarm: 1 in 4 cetaceans face extinction, with bycatch estimated to killing 300,000+ annually. New cross-border strategies are in progress.

🔹 Pacific Island nations called for financial instruments to support small island developing states navigating rising seas and economic vulnerability.

🔹 Democratic Republic of the Congo pledges to ratify the BBNJ High Seas Treaty critical to protecting areas beyond national jurisdiction.

🔹 UNCTAD reports 37.7% of fish stocks are overexploited, up from just 10% in 1974 — a warning sign for sustainable business and trade.

🔹 Philippines’ ocean envoy reminded us: “The deep sea is the common heritage of humankind. It belongs to the ancestors.”

🔹 The High Seas Alliance marked a milestone: 50 countries have ratified the treaty, just 10 short of activating it. A new era of ocean governance is within reach.

🔹 Blue Forest is restoring mangroves in Mozambique with Indigenous communities 10 million trees planted since UNOC2.

🔹 Panama took a bold stand: no to deep-sea mining, industrial krill fishing, and whaling. Echoed the urgency to finalize BBNJ ratifications.

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Call for Action

🔍 For scientists: the data is in — oceans need urgent action, not just observation.
💼 For business leaders: the future of global trade and carbon markets is blue.
⚖️ For policymakers: ocean diplomacy is climate diplomacy.

Let’s not just make waves. Let’s change the tide. 🌍

#UNOC3 #OceanAction #BlueEconomy #BBNJ #HighSeasTreaty #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateJustice #MarineScience #SDG14 #NatureBasedSolutions #LinkedInForGood