Environment – World Ocean Day (June 8, 2023)

On this World Ocean Day, France reiterates its commitment to ensuring that the oceans are at the top of the international agenda. They cover more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and help safeguard major environmental balances, regulate global warming and constitute invaluable biodiversity reserves.

President Macron’s commitment to protecting the oceans and marine biodiversity was a driving force in speeding up this fight internationally. Today he announced that 2025 would be the Year of the Ocean in France.

As part of the High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (HAC BBNJ) launched by France and the EU, France has supported the goal of protecting marine spaces and their ecosystems. A historic agreement was reached on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in international waters at the fifth session of intergovernmental negotiations held at UN headquarters in New York in March 2023.

Major advances were also made on June 2 in Paris in international negotiations on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, particularly in the marine environment. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna emphasized that this progress must allow for the adoption of an ambitious agreement, in order for us to meet the 2024 goal.

France pledges its support for transparent and inclusive international ocean governance and for the Regional Seas Conventions to which it is a party – among others, the Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean and the Cartagena Convention for the Caribbean.

In 2025, France will host the next United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, which it will co-chair with Costa Rica.