1. We, the Heads of State and Government and high-level representatives, meeting in Nice from 9 – 13 June 2025 at the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the full participation of civil society and all stakeholders, affirm our strong commitment to conserve and sustainably use our ocean, seas and marine resources for sustainable development [based on previous declarations].
2. We share one ocean, and we remain gravely concerned with the global emergency it faces from the impacts of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Action is not advancing at the speed or scale required to meet SDG 14. A healthy and resilient ocean is essential for a sustainable ocean economy and underpins cultural and social connections to the ocean. We must act with urgency to face this challenge with bold, ambitious, just and transformative action, and ensure all people, including women and girls, people with disability, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalised groups are empowered and included in ocean-related decision-making [based on UNSG background note].
3. We emphasize that our actions to implement Goal 14 should be in accordance with, reinforce and not duplicate or undermine existing legal instruments, arrangements, processes, mechanisms or entities. We affirm the need to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want. We recognise the importance of UNCLOS to advancing sustainable development and its near universal adoption by States, as recalled in paragraph 159 of The Future We Want, and in this regard we urge all its parties to fully implement their obligations under UNCLOS [based on previous declarations and The Future We Want].
4. We recall the Pact for the Future and our decision to take ambitious action to restore the ocean and its ecosystems, and to improve its health, productivity, sustainable use and resilience [based on the Pact for the Future].
Defending ocean ecosystems
5. We note the ocean plays an essential role in addressing climate change, and are deeply alarmed that the ocean’s ability to act as a climate mitigator has been weakened due to the adverse impacts of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification, eutrophication and deoxygenation, compounded by marine pollution and biodiversity loss [based on UNSG background note].
6. We underline the importance of the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and call for concerted global action to minimise the impact of climate change on ocean biodiversity [based on UNSG background note and KMGBF].
7. We affirm our commitment to continued cooperation to address climate change-related sea level rise and its effects, and acknowledge the High-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise held in New York on 25
September 2024. We recognise sea level rise due to climate change disproportionately impacts Small Island Developing States (SIDS), least developed countries, and coastal communities, and acknowledge the urgent need for collective action to enhance their adaptive capacities and resilience while mitigating climate change. Marginalised groups bear the brunt of many of the negative consequences of climate change and sea level rise [based on ABAS and High-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise modalities].
8. We commend the leadership of SIDS in managing the challenges associated with sea level rise, and note in particular the Pacific Islands Forum Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise and the Alliance of Small Island States Declaration on Sea Level Rise and Maritime [new language].
9. We welcome the contribution of the International Law Commission (ILC) to our understanding of the relationship between sea level rise and international law through its study on “Sea-level rise in relation to international law” and encourage States’ continued engagement with the ILC on this topic [new language].
10. We acknowledge the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. We encourage all States to meet their obligations to prevent, reduce and control the pollution of the marine environment and to protect and preserve the marine environment in relation to the impacts of climate change [new language].
11. We remain concerned the high and rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represents a serious environmental problem at a global scale, negatively impacting the environmental, social, health, and economic dimensions of sustainable development. We recognise the transboundary nature of plastic pollution and efforts to address this crisis through trade, including through the WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution [based on UNSG background note and KMGBF].
12. We reaffirm our shared commitment to accelerate action to prevent, significantly reduce and control marine pollution of all kinds. We support the work of the IMO in further addressing ship-sourced pollution and dumping in the marine environment, including biosecurity risks, and encourage members to address the issue of ghost gear [new language].
13. We reaffirm the need to strengthen integrated coastal zone management, marine spatial planning and climate intervention and adaptation strategies to enhance the resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems. We commit to ecosystem-based approaches and nature-based solutions to protect natural buffers such as mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs, while supporting sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity and pledge to support the implementation of the Early Warnings for All initiative to ensure coastal communities vulnerable to hazardous weather, water or climate events have equitable access to timely, accurate, and actionable information [based on UNSG background note].
14. We reiterate the need to increase scientific knowledge on deep sea ecosystems and emphasise the importance of a precautionary approach, including for deep sea mining. We welcome the work of the
Sustainable ocean economies
15. We recognise the tremendous opportunities offered by sustainable ocean-based economies for States, particularly SIDS, to achieve economic growth and social development while safeguarding the health, resilience and productivity of marine ecosystems for present and future generations [based on UNSG background note].
16. We recognise the essential role of sustainable ocean plans in achieving sustainable ocean economies and call on all coastal and ocean states to commit to the 100% Alliance, ensuring 100 per cent of ocean areas under national jurisdiction are sustainably managed by 2030. We commit to supporting capacity building, knowledge exchange, and financial mobilisation to enable countries, especially SIDS, to develop and implement sustainable ocean plans, [new language].
17. We will ensure by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, marine, and coastal areas are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected, and equitably governed systems of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures, and at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded ecosystems are under effective restoration (30×30). These efforts should align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, prioritise areas of critical importance for biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services, and recognise the integral role of Indigenous Peoples, and of local communities, including their traditional territories [based on KMGBF].
18. We underscore the central role of a healthy and resilient ocean in sustaining life on Earth, ensuring global food security, and supporting billions of lives. We are deeply troubled by the escalating depletion of many global fish stocks through overfishing and call for decisive and collective action to accelerate transition to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture systems, through enhancing marine spatial planning, science-based management, promoting, scaling up and replicating successes, and working together to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. [based on UNSG background note].
19. We encourage World Trade Organization (WTO) Members to deposit their instruments of acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to accelerate its entry into force and implementation. We call on members to conclude negotiations as soon as possible on additional provisions that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing to secure a comprehensive fisheries subsidies agreement [new language].
20. We recognise the critical roles of maritime transport in the global economy and the challenges to transition the sector to sustainability. Decarbonisation of shipping remains an urgent priority. We welcome the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) adoption of the 2023 Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships and its enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050 [based on IMO 2023 Strategy]
Accelerating action
21. We welcome the adoption of the Agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, and encourage States to sign and ratify the Agreement to ensure its early entry into force. We welcome resolution 78/272 of the General Assembly establishing the Preparatory Commission to prepare for the entry into force of the Agreement and for the first Conference of the Parties and call upon States to engage in the Commission. We recognise the important role the Agreement will play in achieving 30×30 [new language].
22. We encourage states to take advantage of the updated modalities for describing ecologically or biologically significant marine areas and explore potential synergies with the future implementation of the BBNJ [based on decision 16 of CBD COP 16].
23. We recognise the importance of the ongoing work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, reaffirm our commitment to preventing, reducing and eliminating plastic pollution by taking effective measures throughout the lifecycle of plastics, and call upon participating delegations to work together to reach an ambitious agreement without delay [based on UNSG background note and UNEP background document].
24. Ocean action must be based on the best available science and knowledge, including Indigenous Knowledge, and that of all members of local communities. To that end we:
25. We recognise accelerating ocean action requires significantly increased finance. In this regard, we:
26. We value the voluntary commitments made to implement SDG 14, including at UN Ocean Conferences, and encourage partnerships to expand initiatives and increase their impact. We support the inclusive nature of voluntary commitments and underscore the need to implement a simple monitoring and reporting process to provide a collective metric for progress [based on UNSG background note].
