UN Ocean Conference Sets Sail Off France on World Oceans Day
The event, themed 'Ocean Wonders,' saw the vessels sail across Nice's Baie des Anges, or Bay of Angels, to spotlight the beauty and importance of the ocean while urging world leaders not to lose sight of its value as they make decisions about the planet's future.
Thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists, and environmental advocates, are expected in Nice this week to confront growing threats to the ocean, and the need to transform pledges into protection.
The United Nations has called the threats a global emergency facing the world's oceans as they confront rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish and other resources.
Just 2.7% of the global ocean is effectively protected from destructive activities like industrial fishing and deep-sea mining — far below the global goal of 30% by 2030, The Associated Press reported.
Participating boats included the Energy Observer, a solar-panel covered catamaran that was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe using renewable energy alone. It produces hydrogen fuel on board via seawater electrolysis, offering a vision of zero-emissions maritime travel.
Other standout vessels included France's Alfred Merlin, dedicated to underwater archaeology; the OceanXplorer, a high-tech billionaire-owned research yacht; and the WWF's Blue Panda, which is working to map and protect the last remaining seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean Sea.
At the heart of the conference is the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023. If it takes effect, the treaty would for the first time allow countries to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and remain largely ungoverned.
'The High Seas Treaty is critical to ensuring we can protect biodiversity in the ocean,' said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance. 'We're in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis. We absolutely have to protect the ocean to address those crises.'
But even in waters already designated as protected, enforcement often falls short. Many countries, France included, face criticism from environmental groups over weak regulation and continued industrial activity within their marine protected areas.
'The ambition is not there, the speed is not there, and the scale has not been there,' said Sílvia Tavares, project manager at Oceano Azul Foundation. 'Moments like UNOC are key to changing that.'
Several countries are expected to announce new marine protected areas, or MPAs, during the conference, along with bans on bottom trawling and other destructive activities within their existing MPA networks.
The 'Ocean Wonders' fleet will remain docked in Nice and open to the public until the conference concludes on June 13.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Underwater turbine spinning for 6 years off Scotland's coast is a breakthrough for tidal energy
Submerged in about 40 meters (44 yards) of water off Scotland's coast, a turbine has been spinning for more than six years to harness the power of ocean tides for electricity – a durability mark that demonstrates the technology's commercial viability. Keeping a large or grid-scale turbine in place in the harsh sea environment that long is a record that helps pave the way for bigger tidal energy farms and makes it far more appealing to investors, according to the trade association Ocean Energy Europe. Tidal energy projects would be prohibitively expensive if the turbines had to be taken out of the water for maintenance every couple of years. Tidal energy technologies are still in the early days of their commercial development, but their potential for generating clean energy is big. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, marine energy – a term researchers use to refer to power generated from tides, currents, waves, or temperature changes – is the world's largest untapped renewable energy resource. The MeyGen tidal energy project off the coast of Scotland has four turbines producing 1.5 megawatts each, enough electricity collectively to power up to 7,000 homes annually. On Thursday, the Swedish company SKF announced that its bearings and seals on one of the turbines had passed the 6 1/2-year mark without needing unplanned or disruptive maintenance. It has been working closely with the industry for a decade on design and testing. 'Achieving six years in the water with constant operations is a very significant milestone that bodes well for the future of tidal energy,' said Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe. Scotland and the UK are global leaders in tidal energy. The MeyGen site, operated by SAE Renewables, has been sending electricity to the grid for about eight years. 'There are very few tidal energy projects generating electricity continuously. Most have been tests and demonstrations,' said Andrea Copping, an expert in marine renewable energy development. Copping said there are still large hurdles to overcome before tidal energy can be adopted more widely, such as dealing with regulatory issues, potential environmental effects, and conflicts with other ocean users. Still, the Scotland project seems to have addressed the question of whether the turbines can last in seawater, added Copping, a distinguished faculty fellow in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington. 'I think they have checked the boxes,' she said. 'Because skeptics – and that includes investors, of course, and governments – said, 'How on Earth are you going to operate these things, especially for any length of time in this very tough environment?' And that's what I think they proved.' 'It's very hard to take what is essentially a wind turbine normally found on land and put it under water,' said Fraser Johnson, operations and maintenance manager at MeyGen. The record-setting turbine should keep going for at least another year before it needs to come out of the water for maintenance, he added. The four turbines are in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, a narrow channel between the Scottish mainland and Stroma Island known for strong tidal currents. Tidal energy systems need strong currents to make electricity efficiently. MeyGen plans to add 20 turbines in 2030 to produce more electricity after needed upgrades to the electricity grid are finished. The site could eventually hold as many as 130 turbines that are more powerful than those at the site today. The MeyGen site is in the open water, while another type of tidal project involves creating a dam-like structure called a barrage across tidal waters. With four turbines, MeyGen is considered the largest tidal energy project of its kind worldwide, said Johnson. 'It's a title we wish we didn't have. We want more, we want others,' he said. 'Unfortunately, others are having difficulty achieving what MeyGen has achieved. But working with SKF moving forward, we'll push the industry forward.'
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Turning ocean preservation into an economic windfall
In 1960, my father, Jacques Piccard, reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, almost 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) below sea level. The mission was not to make headlines, but to disprove a dangerous misconception. Some experts had claimed that no life could survive in the crushing darkness of the ocean's depths, and that assumption had led to proposals to use the deep sea as a dumping ground for nuclear waste. But my father and his team encountered living fish — a discovery that prevented a potentially catastrophic mistake. My father's mission underscores what exploration has always meant to my family. It is not about conquest and domination, but rather curiosity and understanding. Studying nature expands not only the frontiers of our knowledge, but also the scope of our responsibility as planetary stewards. Today, the ocean is under greater threat than ever. Despite decades of warnings, mankind continues to treat the ocean as an inexhaustible resource and a bottomless dumping ground. We are suffocating it with plastic, heating it with emissions, poisoning it with chemicals, and depleting it by overfishing. But the biggest danger is subtler: As was true in 1960, there is a glaring gap between what we know and what we are doing. While we speak of binding treaties and ambitious targets, our actions remain fragmented and insufficient. Even as the ocean's degradation accelerates, governments often take refuge behind the complexity of global consensus-building, using it as an excuse for inaction. As a result, fishing vessels engaged in illegal practices, such as destructive bottom trawling in marine protected areas, are still permitted to sell their catch freely in ports and markets. Although regulations exist, enforcement is weak, sporadic, or simply absent. But we cannot afford to wait for the perfect implementation of perfect treaties. Nor should we use others' failure to address the problem as an excuse for our own inaction. After all, we already know the solutions, and we have the tools to pursue them. What is missing is the will. The spirit of exploration must guide us toward regeneration, not exploitation. Bertrand Piccard At the Solar Impulse Foundation, we have identified more than 1,800 clean and profitable strategies and tools that reconcile economic growth with environmental preservation. Many focus on strengthening regenerative and sustainable practices in the blue economy — from technologies that track illegal fishing and monitor vessel movements from space, to innovations in low-carbon shipping, plastic waste prevention, and regenerative aquaculture. Our recent Ocean Opportunity Guide, mapping ocean-focused innovation, shows just how broad and mature these solutions are. From bio-enhancing concrete that supports marine life to seaweed-based alternatives to single-use plastic and traceability platforms that eliminate greenwashing in seafood value chains, these are not theoretical models; they are real tools already being deployed around the world. Behind them stands a growing ecosystem of entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers. Equally, new financial mechanisms are emerging to bridge the gap between innovation and scale. Blended finance structures, results-based payments, and de-risking vehicles are beginning to unlock capital for nature-based solutions and sustainable aquaculture, particularly in vulnerable coastal economies. These developments show that diverse stakeholders, when aligned, can build an innovation ecosystem capable of solving one of the world's most complex challenges. The solutions we highlight are tested, scalable, and economically sound. They do more than protect ecosystems; they also create jobs, stimulate new markets, and reduce long-term operational risk. Clean innovation in the ocean economy is already generating competitive advantages for forward-looking companies and countries. Financial instruments that de-risk nature-based investments are helping to stabilize coastal economies and expand access to new forms of capital. And circular-economy solutions like seaweed-based packaging and marine-life-friendly infrastructure are not only reducing environmental harm, but also lowering material costs and strengthening supply-chain transparency. In short, ocean preservation is becoming an engine of industrial renewal and geopolitical resilience. As an economic development strategy, it is both future-proof and inclusive, and it appeals to investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers alike. But to unlock this potential, we must change the narrative. Sustainability is not about sacrifice; it is about modernization, innovation, and efficiency. Far from an environmental constraint, ocean preservation is a catalyst for a more dynamic, resilient global economy. As such, it should be recognized as the new frontier of exploration. Our task is to discover not uncharted depths, but better systems. Like the entrepreneurs featured in the Ocean Opportunity Guide, we should all be questioning what we have built and considering how it could be improved. The spirit of exploration must guide us toward regeneration, not exploitation. It must inspire us to stop waiting for others, and to start demonstrating the leadership that this moment demands.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Astronaut Brings French Menu in Space
When you think about the food that astronauts eat in space, lobster, haddock and foie gras probably don't spring to mind - but that's exactly what France's next visitor to the International Space Station (ISS) will be dining on. According to BBC, Astronaut Sophie Adenot has teamed up with award-winning French chef Anne-Sophie Pic to create a menu of gastronomic delights that will travel with Adenot to the ISS next year. Instead of the usual freeze-dried nutrients that astronauts eat, Adenot, 42, will be choosing from the likes of 'Foie gras cream on toasted brioche' and 'Lobster bisque with crab and caraway.' The menu - which the European Space Agency (ESA) has dubbed 'a pinch of France in space' - includes four starters, two main courses and two desserts. Adenot said the dishes, which also include braised beef, and chocolate cream, will not only 'delight our palates' but also help her feel connected to Earth, and her home country. 'Her (Pic's) cuisine signature is deeply influenced by the terroir. This is important to me because I grew up in the countryside, and it will remind me of my roots,' she was quoted as saying in an ESA statement. There are strict rules for food on the ISS - it must be crumb-free, lightweight and keep for at least 24 months, the ESA says. Therefore, most meals are canned, vacuum packed or freeze-dried, with fresh fruit and vegetables a rare luxury that can only be enjoyed when a spacecraft arrives with new supplies. But to keep things interesting, boost morale, and help with crew bonding, every tenth or so meal is one prepared especially for each astronaut, with these 'bonus meals' often made in partnership with a chef. Famous for her haute cuisine, Pic, 55, has the most Michelin stars of any female chef in the world - 10. She says this project is "pushing the boundaries" of gastronomy, as she worked with her team to create special food, while keeping within the technical constraints. 'Cooking for space is an exhilarating challenge,' she was quoted as saying by the ESA.
