Another United Nations Conference, Opportunity or not?
By Captain Paul Watson – Co-founder of Greenpeace, Founder of Sea Shepherd, and Founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation
I’ve been attending international environmental conferences since the 1972 United Nations Conference in Stockholm. I was there in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and again in Paris in 2015. After more than half a century of experience, one thing is painfully clear: these conferences produce a lot of speeches and promises, but very little meaningful action.
At the Rio conference in 1992, Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland introduced the term sustainability. It sounded promising then, but over time it has become little more than a marketing buzzword—a way to disguise business-as-usual practices as environmentally sound.
Today, climate conferences are sponsored by companies like Coca-Cola and heavily influenced by fossil fuel lobbyists. Meanwhile, the planet is burning hotter, ecosystems are collapsing, and biodiversity continues to vanish. The speeches continue, but the crisis deepens.
So what’s different about the upcoming United Nations Conference on the Ocean, June 8–13 in Nice, France?
This time, we have a concrete opportunity to make a real impact. That opportunity is the ratification of the High Seas Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty. This treaty is a desperately needed legal framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national borders—the high seas that make up nearly half the planet’s surface.
We need just 60 nations to ratify this treaty. If this one objective is achieved, the conference can be deemed a success. If not, it will join the long list of well-intentioned but ultimately hollow environmental summits.
Other key priorities include:
- Banning or regulating seabed mining
- Addressing the escalating crisis of plastic marine pollution
- Confronting overfishing, illegal fishing, and commercial whaling
- Restoring phytoplankton populations, which are vital to producing oxygen and sequestering carbon
Let me be direct: if the Ocean dies, we die.
Industrialized fishing is propped up by massive government subsidies. To protect biodiversity, these subsidies must end. Heavy-gear commercial fishing operations should face moratoriums or stricter regulations if we’re to give marine ecosystems a fighting chance.
One hopeful sign is the invitation extended by the Mayor of Nice to mayors of coastal cities worldwide. Local governments often act more boldly than national ones when it comes to environmental issues. Municipal leaders understand that marine ecosystems aren’t abstract—they’re the lifeblood of their communities.
I’m also encouraged by the opportunity for NGOs to connect, strategize, and speak up. I look forward to sharing the stage again with Chief Raoni of the Amazon, as we did in Paris. It’s through grassroots coalitions that real momentum is built.
We must also push back hard against seabed mining. It was recklessly greenlit by the Trump administration, but we now have France on our side. If enough of us raise our voices, we can stop it.
Sea Shepherd France is close by in Antibes, working to transform Marineland’s abandoned orcas and dolphins into residents of a new sanctuary, after France wisely outlawed cetacean captivity. It’s a powerful reminder: when we act, we can correct cruelty with compassion.
Let’s not forget the 11 million tons of plastic dumped into our oceans every year—2 million of which comes from fishing operations. Eliminating plastic from nets, floats, and fishing lines would be a giant leap forward.
And then there’s the phytoplankton crisis. Since 1950, we’ve lost around 40% of these microscopic ocean plants that generate up to 70% of the Earth’s oxygen. Their decline is directly tied to the loss of marine animals that fertilize them through natural nutrient cycles. This crisis affects the very air we breathe.
None of these problems exists in isolation. The Ocean is a single living system of interconnected species and habitats. Protecting it means pushing back against corporate greed, government inaction, and public apathy.
We are the Ocean—its life is our life.
Once again, humanity stands at a crossroads. The Nice conference is a chance to change direction. But talk is cheap. Will this be the year we finally act?
We only need 60 signatures to begin turning the tide. Let’s not waste this chance.
