GNV News 2025 June 15

2025 June 9 to 13, in Nice, France,2025 United Nations Ocean Conference was held, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 set by the United Nations, which addresses the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.

At the UN Ocean Conference, an additional 18 countries the UN High Seas Biodiversity Agreement (BBNJ Agreement) ratified. As a result, the legal framework for establishing marine protected areas to protect biodiversity on the high seas and for the equitable use of resources is on the verge of officially entering into force, moving a step closer to the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030, the “30×30” target. In addition, in French Polynesia, the world’s largest creation of a marine protected area was decided, andJune, Samoa enshrined ocean protection into law, continuing a positive trend. That said, the current situation remains far from achieving the targets, and researchers warn that it is urgent to integrate responses to ocean issues into national policy.

In relation to ocean issues,2025 June , a study reported that2020, global ocean acidification had already exceeded safe levels, posing a serious threat to marine life. Ocean acidification is caused when excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from activities such as the burning of fossil fuels dissolves into seawater, increasing its acidity. According to the study, there is a threshold known as the “planetary boundary,” which indicates environmental limits that must not be crossed to keep Earth in a safe and sustainable state for humanity; however, by 2020, the average acidity of the world’s oceans had already exceeded that boundary. Furthermore, at depths down to 200 meters of the seafloor, in over 60% of areas, and in more than 40% of the surface ocean, this boundary has been exceeded, raising concerns about severe impacts on ecosystems. Specifically, habitats for organisms with calcareous structures, such as coral reefs, have declined markedly: tropical and subtropical coral reefs have lost 43% of their habitat, polar pteropods up to 61%, and coastal bivalves 13%.

Learn more about ocean issues and the state of reporting → “‘The Ocean Decade’: Are the media capturing global developments?”

Learn more about bias in ocean coverage → “Is there only one ocean in the world?: International reporting on the sea”

Learn more about the warming challenges marine life faces → “Great Barrier Reef: Threat from a record rise in sea temperature in four centuries”