The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded on 13 June with more than 170 countries adopting an intergovernmentally agreed declaration committing to urgent action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.

The political declaration titled “Our ocean, our future: United for urgent action,” calls for concrete steps to expand marine protected areas, decarbonize maritime transport, combat marine pollution, and mobilize finance for vulnerable coastal and island nations, among others.

The declaration — together with bold voluntary commitments by States and other entities — constitutes the Nice Ocean Action Plan, successfully concluding the five-day 9 to 13 June conference in Nice, France with a boost to environmental multilateralism.

Fifty-five heads of state and government, along with 15,000 participants from civil society, business, and science, participated in UNOC3 co-hosted by the governments of France and Costa Rica, including more than 450 side events, to accelerate action and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.