The European Union has the ambition to lead the way on international ocean governance and play a decisive role in international discussions, for the sake of our planet, the ocean and the people who depend on it.
The UN Ocean Conference is the world’s most important recurring multilateral event on the Ocean and a key opportunity to stand up to our ambition and shape bold strategies for ocean sustainability.
The 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 will be co-hosted by France and Costa Rica and held in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025.
The overarching theme of this Conference is “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.
- ocean | international ocean governance
- Monday 9 June 2025, 09:00 - Friday 13 June 2025, 19:00 (CEST)
- Nice, France
Practical information
- When
- Monday 9 June 2025, 09:00 - Friday 13 June 2025, 19:00 (CEST)
- Where
- Quai Amiral InfernetNice, France
- Languages
- English
- Website
- 2025 UN Ocean Conference website
Description
The aim of the conference is to support action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development and identify further means of implementation of SDG 14, building on existing instruments to form successful partnerships.
The Conference involves all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The EU and its Member States have always played a leadership role at UNOC, from the very first edition (co-hosted by Sweden and Fiji) in 2017 in New York to that in Lisbon in 2022 (co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya), and we wish to continue doing so.
The Conference’s outcome will take the form of:
- A Political Declaration
- Voluntary commitments that will be submitted by Member States and relevant stakeholders
those will jointly be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan.
The Conference consists of
- 10 Plenary Sessions
- 10 Ocean Action Panels
- Special Events
- Side Events
EU participation at UN Ocean Conference events 2 – 13 June 2025
Ahead of the forthcoming UN Ocean Conference, the European Union and its Member States are rallying behind a shared vision of strengthened multilateralism for ocean governance as the challenges the Ocean is facing oblige nations to act together.
The EU will press for urgent, collective measures to safeguard our Ocean and the communities whose livelihoods depend on it; spotlight its resolve to fast-track implementation of SDG 14 and other ocean-related goals in the 2030 Agenda; and underscore its readiness to shape bold, forward-looking strategies for ocean sustainability.
EU leadership for the Ocean is backed by concrete deliverables: the European Ocean Pact, which is to be adopted on 5 June 2025, which sets high standards for conservation and governance; the EU’s swift ratification of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) on 28 May 2025; nearly €1 million to launch an International Platform on Ocean Sustainability (IPOS) that strengthens the science-policy interface; the development of a Digital Representation of the Ocean to inform global decision-making; and a package of commitments approaching €1 billion, confirming the EU as one of the world’s largest donors to ocean action.
The EU pursues its goals by taking part to the UNOC sessions, panels and events, as a participant, co-organiser or organiser.
