Translation of article written in Portuguese by Carla Tomás, in Expresso

Two months ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC2025), which will take place in June in Nice (France), the French presidency and the Oceano Azul Foundation (FOA) are joining forces to shine a spotlight on the international ocean agenda. On Sunday night, the Eiffel Tower will light up blue, “symbolising a beacon for ocean sustainability,” Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO of the Oceano Azul Foundation, told Expresso.

The event, titled “SOS Ocean,” brings together politicians, scientists, athletes, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, and other civil society organisations to discuss the state of the oceans and the actions needed to protect them. Among the speakers in Paris are Jürgen Renn, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Berlin), Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, as well as European Council President António Costa, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and EU Commissioner for Fisheries Costas Kadis. French President Emmanuel Macron will close the gathering and is expected to announce some of the goals for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025), to be held in June in Nice, following the Lisbon conference (UNOC 2022). The European Commission is also expected to present a European Ocean Pact, promoting maritime, energy, and food security, ocean health, and a sustainable blue economy, as recently recommended by the European Council.

THREE PLANETARY CRISES

The aim of the “SOS Ocean” event is to draw attention to the three ongoing planetary crises — ocean, climate, and biodiversity — and how they are intertwined. Oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat in the Earth system, contain about 93% of the planet’s carbon, and are warming at a much faster rate than in the 20th century. Compounding this are issues such as acidification, deoxygenation, and the disappearance of over 10% of major marine predators such as sharks, tuna, and whales. “Science tells us that if we had the same number of whales as before the Industrial Revolution, we would have the equivalent of two Amazons in terms of carbon retention,” notes Pitta e Cunha.

“Marine biodiversity is under immense pressure and risks losing its capacity to sequester carbon, a function that currently offsets about 25% of annual CO₂ emissions,” warns researcher Miguel Bastos Araújo. He conveyed this and other information to Emmanuel Macron during a recent visit to Portugal, at an event organised by the FOA. The biogeographer reminds us that “oceans continue to bear the brunt of climate change and will keep warming, with excess heat dissipating as kinetic energy — fuelling extreme winds — and as intense evaporation, leading to heavy rainfall.” He stresses that, in light of scientific evidence, “urgent action is needed, including strengthening international commitments to marine protection, enforcing strict regulations on deep-sea mining, and investing in ocean conservation.”

PROGRESS SINCE THE LISBON CONFERENCE

Since UNOC 2022, held in Lisbon three years ago, some international initiatives have made progress. Among them is the drafting of an international treaty on plastic pollution, aimed at addressing the full lifecycle of plastics — from production and design to disposal — through a legally binding international instrument. However, no agreement has yet been reached.

The High Seas Treaty, “which had been stalled for 20 years at the UN, gained new momentum at the Lisbon Ocean Conference and was adopted six months later by 80 countries,” says Pitta e Cunha. Now there is a “race to ratify it so it can enter into force.” Portugal has not yet ratified this treaty, and with the fall of Luís Montenegro’s government, the matter has been postponed.

A third initiative in the last three years was the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, stemming from the 15th UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties in December 2022. The global commitment is to protect 30% of marine and terrestrial areas by 2030, with 10% under strict protection. But current global figures fall short of that ambition. It’s estimated that less than 8% of the world’s oceans are part of a Marine Protected Area (MPA), and under 3% are under strict protection that prohibits any extraction of the natural capital they safeguard.

Pitta e Cunha admits that it is “hard to believe” that the necessary expansion of MPAs can be achieved in five years, given “the complexity and slowness of these processes.” Yet he argues that the “30 by 30” goal should be considered as important as limiting global warming to 1.5 or 2 °C, as set out in the Paris Agreement. He is more optimistic regarding national progress in marine protected areas, to which FOA has contributed. Portugal has increased its total marine area under protection from 4.5% to 19%, largely thanks to the expansion of the Azores Marine Park — the largest protection network in the North Atlantic and in Europe. To reach the 30% target, it will count on the future designation of the Gorringe Seamount, the highest submerged mountain in Western Europe, located 200 km south of the Algarve.

“These sanctuaries offer a crucial strategy for restoring ecosystems, safeguarding biodiversity, and enhancing the ocean’s capacity to regulate the climate. The expansion of MPAs and ensuring their effective management remains one of the most promising ways to mitigate some of the most urgent threats to the planet’s life-support system,” says Miguel Bastos Araújo.

Portugal also stands out for recently passing a legally binding moratorium on deep-sea mining, approved by the national parliament, whereas Spain and France have only passed non-binding parliamentary resolutions on the issue. Emmanuel Macron’s support for a moratorium on seabed mining was announced three years ago at UNOC 2022 in Lisbon.

Miguel B. Araújo stresses that “only around 8% of the carbon absorbed by the ocean is stored in surface waters, with the remaining 92% located below 200 metres. This deep-sea carbon reservoir is crucial for long-term climate stability.” Pitta e Cunha reinforces the point: “The seafloor is one of the planet’s largest carbon reservoirs and, if disturbed, could contaminate vast ocean areas and threaten the biomass that fisheries convert into the protein we consume — putting our food security at risk.”