About the third
United Nations Ocean Conference
Co-organised by the governments of France and Costa Rica, the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) will take place in Nice from 9 to 13 June, 2025.
UNOC3 will be focused on “Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”. The conference aims to foster urgent and expanded action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development and to identify further ways to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. It will build on existing instruments to forge effective partnerships toward the swift conclusion and efficient implementation of ongoing processes that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.
The conference will involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organisations, international financial institutions, other interested international agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and other stakeholders to assess the challenges and opportunities related to the implementation of Goal 14 and the measures taken toward that end.
In addition to the plenary session bringing together the 193 Member States of the United Nations, dialogue sessions will be held bringing together Member States, international organisations and representatives of civil society (NGOs, scientists, businesses). These dialogues, the Ocean Action Panels, will highlight the commitment of the various players and the creation of coalitions and projects in favour of the Ocean. They will help to anchor the Conference in action by proposing concrete solutions with all the participants.
The conference will be preceded by three special events: the One Ocean Science Congress (June 4-6, 2025, in Nice), the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (June 7-8, 2025, in Monaco), and the Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience Coalition (June 7, 2025, in Nice).
The ocean & Climate Platform's
role at UNOC 3
The United Nations Ocean Conferences are crucial moments for civil society to stand up together and share their concerns and visions for the future of the ocean.
In 2023, the governments of France and Costa Rica entrusted Loreley Picourt (Ocean & Climate Platform) and Rémi Parmentier (The Varda Group) with a mandate to mobilise and consult civil society ahead of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference. This mandate led to several key initiatives, including:
- The global consultation “A Call to All Voices of the Ocean”
- The launch of the “Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean” initiative
- A visioning exercise titled “An Ocean of Possibilities: A Call to Imagine the Future of Ocean Sustainability”
The Ocean & Climate Platform was also commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate the development of the Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience Coalition of cities and regions, alongside the Mayor of Nice, Mr. Christian Estrosi, who serves as its president. The Coalition will be officially launched on June 7, 2025, during the dedicated Special Event.
Explore the details of these actions below.
Consult and mobilise
civil society
A Call to all the Voices of the Ocean
Under the mandate entrusted to them by the governments of France and Costa Rica to mobilise and consult civil society in preparation for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference, Loreley Picourt (Executive Director, Ocean & Climate Platform) and Rémi Parmentier (Co-Founder, The Varda Group) launched a global consultation titled “A Call to All Voices of the Ocean.”
Civil society organisations worldwide working on ocean-related issues were invited to share their insights, experiences, and expectations for the upcoming Conference.
This consultation drew contributions from 125 organizations, leading to the identification of three key priorities:
- Accelerate ocean governance — including advancing the BBNJ Treaty, addressing deep-sea mining, and strengthening synergies across agendas such as UNFCCC and CBD.
- Assess the progress of commitments made at previous UNOC events, monitor the outcomes of future editions, and ensure accountability from both states and non-state actors.
- Look beyond 2030 to develop a forward-looking roadmap for SDG 14, rooted in the values of inclusivity and transparency.
An Ocean of Possibilities:
A Call to Imagine the Future of Ocean Sustainability
In line with its mandate to mobilise and consult civil society in preparation for the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the Ocean and Climate Platform, in collaboration with Friends of Ocean Action, is launching a global “visioning” exercise to imagine a sustainable future for the ocean. This collaborative initiative builds on insights from the consultation “A Call to All Ocean Voices,” which outlined key expectations from civil society for UNOC3 and underscored the importance of looking beyond 2030 to anticipate the next steps for SDG 14, while also working toward current targets.
This participatory approach seeks to envision a desirable future for the ocean and chart pathways to achieve it. By fostering creativity and encouraging innovative solutions to today’s pressing challenges, this effort aims to inspire impactful action and engage all ocean stakeholders on a deeper level.
F.A.Q
What is visioning?
Visioning is a scientific methodology aimed at collaboratively imagining desirable futures on a given topic and identifying pathways, namely the means and steps needed to achieve these desirable futures. This methodology is used by the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which considers three main ways of valuing nature: “nature for nature” (intrinsic value), “nature for society” (instrumental value), and “nature as culture” (relational value). Visioning builds on inputs from experts across diverse sectors and backgrounds, making it a collaborative and inclusive process.
What are seeds and how will they be used to develop scenarios?
Seeds are innovative ideas or practices that can help create a more sustainable world by offering new ways of living and coexisting with nature. They can be civil society movements, technological innovations, policies or business practices, implemented at various scales (learn more on the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes website). Building on the premise that scenarios need to be developed based on what already exists in the present, seeds are identified at the start of the visioning exercise. Exploratory work is then carried out to understand the conditions under which these seeds could become widespread in the future. The visioning exercise then consists in drawing up narratives describing these future conditions in terms of practices, values, key players and institutions. This process results in scenarios of desirable futures, accompanied by the transformations (or pathways) needed to achieve them. These scenarios are developed during in-person workshops, and can be based on creative approaches, including science fiction.
Why is visioning relevant to our work on the ocean?
The world is currently off track to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015, including SDG 14, which focuses on protecting the health of the ocean, marine life, and the communities that depend on it. Pessimistic scenarios and projections can fuel a sense of despair and fail to inspire ocean actors to engage in more sustainable practices. Visioning, on the other hand, by harnessing the power of imagination and creativity, can spark innovative and inspiring ideas. These stories also strengthen emotional ties with the ocean, increasing empathy and making the ocean’s challenges more relatable. By setting clear common goals for the future, the developed narratives can guide decisions in the present and invite us to rethink our values and our relationship with the ocean. By imagining desirable, dynamic and creative futures, visioning serves as a lever to motivate transformative change towards ocean protection.
Why is our approach original?
The visioning exercise conceived by the Ocean & Climate Platform and Friends of Ocean Action stands out due to its scale and inclusivity. The in-person workshop will bring together about 50 participants from diverse geographic regions to integrate a wide range of perspectives in the process of developing a common vision. The initiative seeks to build upon previous visioning exercises, which focused on more specific topics (such as the high seas, fisheries, or coral reefs) to develop a global vision that encompasses various dimensions of ocean sustainability. We also intend to explore collaborations with artists to enhance imagination and creativity around our collective ocean narrative.
How will the outcomes of the visioning be included in the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3)?
The Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) will be held in Nice in 2025, co-chaired by the governments of France and Costa Rica. The conference aims to identify and implement solutions to the key challenges facing the ocean. In this context, the Ocean & Climate Platform has been mandated to mobilise civil society and amplify their voices. To this end, the OCP and the Varda Group already conducted a global consultation, a “call to all the voices of the ocean”, which identified the main expectations from civil society for UNOC3, including the need to anticipate the post-2030 Agenda and the next steps for SDG14, while striving to achieve the targets set by then. The OCP therefore intends to build on the conclusions of the visioning exercise to present, at UNOC3, a collective vision from civil society for a sustainable future for the ocean in order to inspire transformative change. The goal is to have this vision incorporated into the Nice Ocean Action Agreement (i.e., the political outcome of UNOC3), ensuring it becomes part of the legacy of UNOC3. The vision will also provide some foundation to inform discussions that will be held at UNOC4 focusing on the post-2030 agenda.
Who can contribute to this exercise?
The first leg of this exercise consists of an online survey dedicated to identifying “seeds”, open until 10 December. All members of the ocean community, including NGOs, private sector representatives, governmental institutions, international organisations, research institutes, representatives of local communities, can contribute.
Let's Be Nice to the Ocean
The next United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) will take place in June 2025 in Nice, France, leaving less than a few months to ensure that it concludes with transformative, positive, and concrete outcomes for the ocean, its ecosystems, and marine biodiversity. To support these efforts, The Varda Group is launching “Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean” in collaboration with the Ocean & Climate Platform and in partnership with TBA21-Academy, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, the Tara Ocean Foundation, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, MedPAN, and Ocean Born Foundation.
This initiative, based on the document “Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean: Thinking Outside the Box Before the Third UN Ocean Conference,“ explores ways to make ocean protection the standard rather than the exception.
For more information, visit https://letsbenicetotheocean.org/.
Coordinate the ocean rise & coastal resilience coalition
The Ocean & Climate Platform has been mandated by French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate the development of the Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience Coalition of coastal cities and regions, alongside the mayor of Nice, Mr. Christian Estrosi, who will preside over the coalition.
The Coalition will be officially launched on June 7, 2025, during the dediacted Special Event on Coastal Cities and Regions.
Aiming to unite hundreds of cities and regions representing one billion people worldwide who are impacted by rising sea levels, the Coalition is dedicated to supporting the adaptation of coastal cities and regions globally.
Focusing on three priorities—mobilisation, knowledge, and financing—the Coalition’s objectives are to:
- Accelerate adaptation in coastal cities and regions by creating a platform that brings together representatives from coastal cities and regions, networks of local authorities, financial intermediaries, scientific institutions and experts, civil society organisations, and urban planners;
- Advocate for the interests of coastal cities and regions by strengthening their representation and leadership in political forums, international conferences, and global summits.
