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World leaders open UN Ocean Conference with calls to protect seas, back moratorium on deep‑sea mining and new science initiatives
Summary
At the opening plenary in Nice, presidents and the U.N. secretary‑general urged rapid action on ocean protection, announced science and finance initiatives and reiterated support for the high‑seas treaty and a moratorium on commercial deep‑seabed mining.
French President Emmanuel Macron opened the United Nations Conference to support implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 in Nice and urged rapid action to protect oceans, calling for stronger protection, science‑based mapping of sensitive seabed areas and a halt to predatory deep‑sea mining.
Macron said the conference represented “a victory” that was nevertheless “fragile,” and outlined several science and cooperation initiatives he said France would back, including a starfish barometer and an ocean health indicator, a new ocean spatial mission called Corsair and an international Neptune ocean exploration mission planned to begin in 2026. “The ocean is not for sale,” Macron said, adding that states should map and highly protect sensitive ecosystems such as canyons and restrict activities including deep‑sea trawling and mining in those areas.
Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves…
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