Speaking at France summit, António Guterres called for bold pledges to stop deep sea from becoming ‘wild west’
Nations must move from “plunder to protection” in order to save the world’s seas from crisis, the UN chief told the ocean summit on Monday.
All countries must come forward with “bold pledges” including a biodiversity target to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, to tackle plastic pollution, overfishing and for greater governance of the high seas, he urged at the opening ceremony. Guterres also stressed the importance of multilateralism and warned, in an apparent swipe at the US, which was not present at the conference: “The deep sea cannot become the wild west.”
“We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope” UN secretary general, António Guterres told the summit in Nice. “Hope that we can turn the tide. Hope that we can move from plunder to protection.”
His words drew applause from the audience, which included 60 world leaders, including the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, heads of small island developing states as well as ministers, policymakers, scientists and civil society activists.
