9 June 2025, Nice France - The international community must unite to deliver a comprehensive financing ecosystem to ensure a sustainable Ocean economy that works for the planet, our prosperity, and our future.
The call comes from the Republic of Palau, the current Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), as Pacific countries join more than 10,000 delegates converging in Nice France for the largest Ocean summit ever organised.
The Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) from 9 – 13 June 2025, co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, aims to confront the deepening global Ocean emergency. UNOC3 is taking place at a time when scientists warn that climate change, plastic pollution, the loss of ecosystems and the overuse of marine resources are pushing our Ocean to the point of no return.
In France, UNOC3 aims to deliver an ambitious Nice Ocean Action Plan by focusing on three key areas including completing multilateral processes related to the ocean, mobilising finance resources for Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) and supporting a sustainable blue economy.
Preceding UNOC3 was the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco, designed to identify and mobilise solutions to support initiatives to promote the blue economy and conserve marine ecosystems. Speaking during the “Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity” side event during BEFF on Sunday, President of Palau, His Excellency Surangel Whipps Jr reminded world leaders that the Ocean remains our greatest hope, our food security, economic foundation, and path to climate resilience.
He called for a comprehensive financing ecosystem, one that includes grants for science and governance, patient capital for community-led enterprises, sustainable revenue mechanisms for marine protected areas, and robust local financial systems supporting nature-positive businesses.
“To the investors and financiers in this room—we cannot afford to leave behind the very people who have safeguarded the Ocean for generations. They must be partners in designing and implementing these solutions,” President Whipps Jnr said.
“To the governments represented here—the momentum we've built must translate into scale, replication, and accessibility at the urgency this crisis demands.
“The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in the Ocean—it's whether you can afford not to. While governments subsidised fossil fuels to the tune of $1.1 trillion in 2023, sustainable ocean economies struggle for a fraction of that support. This represents the greatest misallocation of capital in our time.”
The President of Palau pointed out that of all the financial flows to the Pacific region, only 3% comes from private sources, a statistic he described as “striking.”
“This means global private capital is missing some of the world's most promising investment opportunities,” he said. “Consider what you're overlooking: renewable ocean energy that could power the world many times over. Marine ecosystems that can sustainably feed a growing global population. Communities whose traditional knowledge holds keys to conservation solutions that could help achieve global climate targets. All while delivering competitive returns—proving that doing global good and doing well financially are not mutually exclusive.
“In Palau, we're not asking you to think small because we're small. We're asking you to think differently about what scale means. Our ocean territory is 200 times larger than our land mass. We offer what investors seek most: stable governance, proven environmental stewardship spanning generations, and innovation born from necessity.”
The third United Nations Ocean Conference is guided by the theme, "Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean."
President Whipps is amongst Pacific leaders who are in Nice to advocate their national and regional priorities during discussions at different Ocean Action Panels as well as during multiple side events planned for the next five days.
The “Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity” side event hosted by SPC, featured Niue Prime Minister Hon. Dalton Tagelagi, Cook Islands Prime Minister, Hon. Mark Brown, Fiji’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Mosese Bulitavu, UN Special Envoy for Oceans, Peter Thomson, Pacific Ocean Commissioner, Dr. Filimon Manoni, Cristian Samper, of Bezos Earth Fund, Dr Craig Chittick, Deputy Head of Australia’s Office to the Pacific and Karena Lyons, of SPC. The side event was moderated by H.E. Ilana Seid, Permanent Representative of Palau to the UN.
The third UN Ocean Conference is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica and held in Nice, France, from 9 – 13 June 2025. The overarching theme of the Conference is “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.
The Pacific Islands are represented by a strong contingent, which includes Leaders from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tuvalu.
Also present and engaged are Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is providing support to Pacific delegations as part of the One CROP support.
SPREP will provide more Pacific news from the UNOC2025. For further information on the UN Ocean Conference 2025, please visit: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by BEFF | Jean Charles Vinaj