
UN Summit Celebrates Ocean Protections, But Drops Fossil Fuels
Countries hoping for new financial pledges to assist with combating rising seas and overfishing were also left disappointed at the UN Ocean Conference in France.
More than 60 heads of state and government joined thousands of business leaders, scientists and environmental campaigners over five days in the southern city of Nice.
The United Nations says the world's oceans are facing an "emergency" and the Nice gathering was just the third -- and the largest yet -- dedicated entirely to the seas.
Activists unanimously praised concrete progress toward ratifying a landmark pact to protect marine life in the 60 percent of oceans that lie beyond national waters.
"This week's ratifications of the high seas treaty mark a major milestone for ocean action," said Rebecca Hubbard from the High Seas Alliance.
Some 19 countries formally ratified the treaty at Nice, taking the overall tally to 50. Sixty nations are needed to enact the treaty.
France's special envoy for the oceans, Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, said the numbers would be ready in time for a formal ratification ceremony in September in New York.
The treaty should then take effect in January 2026, he added.
The conference sought to rally global action on marine protection as countries prepare to tussle over global rules for deep-sea mining in July and a plastics treaty in August.
More than 90 ministers issued a symbolic call in Nice for the hard-fought plastics treaty to contain limits on consumption and production of new plastics, something opposed by oil-producing nations.
The summit rallied a defence of science and rules-based oversight of common resources -- most notably the unknown depths of the oceans -- in a direct rebuke of US President Donald Trump.
Trump was not present in Nice and rarely mentioned by name but his spectre loomed large as leaders backed the global multilateralism he has spurned.
In particular, leaders condemned Trump's push to fast-track seabed mining, vowing to resist his unilateral efforts to exploit the ocean floor.
Leaders "made it unmistakably clear: deep-sea mining is one of the biggest threats facing our ocean, and the world is saying no," said Sofia Tsenikli from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
French President Emmanuel Macron called it "madness" while Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned against a "predatory" race for critical minerals.
But a global alliance opposed to deep-sea mining, and spearheaded by France, only attracted four new members during the summit, taking the total to 37 nations.
Poivre d'Arvor said the alliance would flatly reject any call at a meeting of the International Seabed Authority next month to permit deep-sea exploration.
The authority, backed by the UN, has 169 member states.
Many nations took the opportunity to unveil plans to create vast new marine protected areas and restrict bottom trawling, which was recently captured in grisly detail in a new David Attenborough documentary.
Activists had wanted countries to go further, advocating for a total ban on the destructive fishing method that sees heavy nets dragged across the ocean floor.
Some 8.7 billion euros ($10 billion) was committed over the next five years by philanthropists and private investors for the sustainable development of ocean economies.
But pledges were less forthcoming from wealthy governments, with France announcing two million euros for climate adaptation in Pacific Island nations.
The summit will close later Friday with a joint political statement, negotiated over many months between nations, that critics slammed for omitting any reference to fossil fuels -- the key driver of ocean warming.
Laurence Tubiana, CEO at the European Climate Foundation, said Nice showed global cooperation was still possible "but let's not confuse signatures with solutions".
"No communique ever cooled a marine heatwave," she said.
Former US special climate envoy John Kerry, who was present in Nice, said in a statement that it was impossible to "protect the ocean without confronting the biggest root cause bringing it to the breaking point: the pollution from unabated fossil fuels pumped into the atmosphere".
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


DW
2 hours ago
- DW
Ukraine's NATO allies scramble to deliver US weapons – DW – 07/23/2025
As Russia escalates drone and missile attacks across Ukraine, NATO allies are scrambling to find Patriot air defense systems to supply Ukraine's military. In a significant shift in US policy, President Trump has announced that the United States will resume supplying weapons to Ukraine — but only if European and NATO allies cover the costs. This announcement, however, appears to be more of a political statement than a fully developed plan, leaving NATO countries scrambling to coordinate logistics and funding. At least eight NATO members, including Germany, the UK and Canada, have expressed willingness to participate. A major focus is the Patriot air-defense system, which is costly, complex to operate and slow to produce. Germany had planned to buy new Patriot systems for Ukraine but may now send units from its own stockpile, provided replacements are secured. Meanwhile, Switzerland's own Patriot order may be delayed to prioritize Ukraine. As Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks, the urgency to deliver effective air defense to Kyiv is growing, but logistical and production challenges remain.


DW
7 hours ago
- DW
US Olympic committee bans trans women from women's events – DW – 07/23/2025
American transgender women will no longer be able to compete in women's events at the Olympics and Paralympics. The US committee updated its policy to align with executive orders made by U.S. President Donald Trump. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) have published an updated "Athlete Safety Policy." The new version is to align with an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year. The update effectively bans transgender women from competing in women's sports in the Olympics. In the 27-page document with the updated "Athlete Safety Policy," the USOPC does not mention the word "transgender." However, in a new subsection titled "Additional Requirements," it states that "The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities" to ensure that "women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201." On Tuesday, USOPC president Gene Sykes and chief executive officer Sarah Hirshland sent a letter to the US Olympic community, explaining the policy change. "As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations," they wrote as reported by US media outlets including and the . "Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women." The letter also said that national governing bodies will have to "update their applicable policies in alignment." The USOPC's change follows a similar one at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) earlier this year. The NCAA changed its policy a day after Trump's executive order. It now limits competitors in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth. In February this year, Trump signed executive order 14201, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." This order means that if schools or institutions allow transgender athletes to compete in teams that do not match the sex they were assigned at birth, they could face the withdrawal of federal funding. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also tasked with getting the International Olympic Committee to change the "the standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes" by using "all appropriate and available measures." The executive order is similar to other measures introduced by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, they also restricted transgender people from serving in the US military. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Critics of the executive order argue that there is little evidence of transgender athletes dominating women's sports on a larger scale. Opponents also warn these orders will not create fair solutions in sport and are instead likely to deepen political polarization. There are also concerns for the mental health of young transgender athletes, should they be excluded from sport. This comes alongside worries that women with chromosome abnormalities could also be targeted by unscientific "genetic tests", and that it puts athletes under scrunity not applied to their male counterparts. The National Women's Law Center condemned the move, "By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes," said the organization's president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves in a statement. In several states across the USA, laws bar transgender women and girls from participating in certain competitions. Some of these policies have been blocked in court after critics challenged the policies as discriminatory and cruel. The president of International Olympics Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, has previously stated an effort to "protect the female category." Trump has said he wants the IOC to change everything "having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject." So far, the IOC allows individual sports federations to set their own rules at the Olympics. In swimming, cycling, and track and field, stricter rules on transgender athletes have already been passed, with athletes who went through male puberty banned from women's events. The next Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are to be held in Los Angeles in 2028. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video


Int'l Business Times
8 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
'So Trump-like': Relief But No Surprise In Japan As US Cuts Tariffs
In the Japanese city of Seki, famed for its razor-sharp artisan knives, news that incoming US tariffs will be lowered is welcome but not entirely unexpected. Around 40 percent of kitchen blades produced in Seki, where knifemaking expertise dates back 700 years, are exported to the United States, local authorities say. The two countries announced Wednesday they had cut a deal to lower the 25-percent tariffs on Japanese goods threatened by US President Donald Trump -- starting on August 1 -- to 15 percent. "Lower tariffs are better" but "I'm not that surprised" at the trade deal, said Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki. "I don't know what truly happened, but I feel like maybe Trump thought tariffs up to 15 percent were acceptable, and boldly proposed a higher tariff rate at first," Sumikama told AFP. "Then as the negotiations took shape, he tried to create a good impression in the public eye by lowering it from 25 percent. That kind of strategy would be so Trump-like." The US leader, who hailed the Japan deal as "massive", has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by the end of July. Japan is one of five nations to have signed an agreement -- along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines -- after Trump said in April he would strike "90 deals in 90 days". Headlines have focused on the impact of US tariffs on the likes of Toyota and others in Japan's huge auto industry, as well as trade in steel, rice and other key goods. But Japanese knives have in recent years become a luxury must-have in kitchens worldwide including the United States, partly fuelled by a pandemic-era home cooking boom. Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century, when the city in the mountains of Gifu region became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment. Today its knives are prized for their precision, sleek finish and long lifespan, with record tourism to Japan also boosting sales for companies like Sumikama Cutlery. Exports to North America, including Canada, account for just five percent of the firm's sales on a value basis. The company exports more knives to Europe and other Asian countries. CEO Sumikama, who is in his 60s, said he did not plan price hikes for the US market, even before the tariffs were reduced. Seki's industry has "weathered the storm" through the decades, including during exchange rate fluctuations -- with one dollar worth 80 yen or more than 300 yen at times, he told AFP. On the US side, clients have also survived tumultuous events such as the 2008 financial crisis, meaning they are "not worried at all" about tariffs, he added. If Trump is "trying to make America strong by deliberately raising tariffs" he should know that "problems cannot be solved by such simple means", Sumikama said, adding that "American people will have to bear the burden of higher costs". Sumikama Cutlery, which has about 30 workers, uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre to make the knives, then artisans finish the job by hand. Japanese knives make food taste better, "have unique 'wabi-sabi' aesthetics" -- meaning beauty in imperfection -- "and when it comes to sharpness, they're second to none", Sumikama said. "Different countries have different strengths and weaknesses... even if President Trump tells people to make (Japanese-style) knives, they cannot." Japan is one of five nations to have signed a tariff agreement with the United States AFP 'I'm not that surprised' at the tariff deal, says Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery AFP Seki's industry has 'weathered the storm' through the decades AFP Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century AFP