"Science is vital to understanding the ocean and identify the right solutions"
In France, 2025 is the Year of the Sea and the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference is coming up soon, all of which serves to reiterate how crucial for the ocean to be a core subject for public debate. With just a few weeks to go now before this international conference, Joachim Claudet, the CNRS's Ocean Advisor, takes a look at the key issues at stake for such events, people's expectations of research and the role the CNRS plays in this global dynamic.
What are the scientific community's expectations for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3)?
Joachim Claudet: Several announcements are expected at UNOC3, starting with the question of the deep seabed which will be a central issue at a time when coalitions of states are being set up to work towards their shared objective of achieving responsible, knowledge-based governance. UNOC3 could also play a role in helping to speed up the ratification of the BBNJ (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction) treaty which is potentially a catalyst for a new governance of the high seas. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are another sensitive issue as announcing new MPAs appears less relevant currently than guaranteeing quality management for such areas. The European Commission has set the target of 10% of areas under strict protection but this of course requires the joint recognition of robust international standards. Finally, maritime transport is one of the sectors responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions so a clear position on decarbonisation in this field is also much awaited.
However, one point requiring vigilance remains - the proliferation of commitments with no tangible follow-up. The scientific community is greatly involved at the interface between science and decision-making and is raising the alarm about this dynamic's limits. If political commitments do not lead to tangible operational involvement and proper accountability for this then researchers risk disengaging from work in such fields.
The CNRS is the joint organiser of the upcoming One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) which is UNOC3's scientific pillar. What are its ambitions?
J. C.: The One Ocean Science Congress is scheduled for June 3rd to 6th in Nice just before UNOC3. The aim is to reaffirm the central role science has to play in the international decision-making process both as a producer of knowledge and in driving public policy-making. This is the first time a scientific conference has been organised just before a UN conference and, in this sense, the OOSC is a lot more than a scientific conference. It is also a platform for governance informed by the scientific method and the CNRS plays a central structuring role within that platform. The OOSC3 will also reveal its 10 recommendations for the ocean which will serve as the basis for the upcoming political discussions at the UN conference.
The conference has been positioned as a forum for transparency capable of identifying gaps in implementation or grey areas and putting forward strategies to remedy such issues. By mapping out both what we know and don't yet know, the conference's aim is to construct future research programmes, provide guidance for international funding and drive the emergence of new structuring subjects. For example, geoengineering is one of these emerging themes that will be discussed from a well-documented critical standpoint.
Why is investing in today's ocean research so crucial?
J. C.: Science plays a key role in working towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. It provides the knowledge required to protect marine ecosystems and to help define informed trade-offs between environmental, social and economic concerns. While crucially important, the oceans, and particularly the high seas, remain largely unknown which is why sustained investment in research is so essential. One of the initiatives expected to help make up this gap in knowledge is a mission of unprecedented scope that has been conceived as the ocean-based equivalent of major space exploration missions. The aim is to structure international scientific governance to find out more about and better preserve the ocean in conjunction with the implementation of the BBNJ treaty.
How does the CNRS tackle the issue of the ocean?
J. C.: Our oceans are a climate regulator, a refuge for biodiversity and of course represent an essential resource for millions of people but they remain under ever-increasing pressure from issues like overfishing, plastic pollution, deep-sea mining or acidification. The CNRS is of course heavily involved in and committed to protecting and defending the ocean.
Over 1000 CNRS scientists from around fifty laboratories work in this area reflecting the CNRS's position as one of the world's leading research organisations, capable of forging multiple alliances between all the scientific disciplines - oceanography, physics, sociology, biology, ecology, geology, mathematics, chemistry, economics and even philosophy - to study the ocean in all its dimensions. The CNRS's unique disciplinary coverage means the organisation is involved in all the major themes to be dealt with at UNOC3 and its scientific pillar, the OOSC. The CNRS is also jointly organising three side events in the framework of UNOC3, including two in Villefranche-sur-Mer on June 10th that are devoted to the field of ocean observation
in which the CNRS has rare interdisciplinary and international-level expertise. The third side event will focus on ocean equity with the aim of integrating social justice into marine policies. Particular attention will be paid at this event to the challenges of the blue economy and the growing role of the humanities and social sciences.
The CNRS currently co-steers four France 2030 national research programmes linked the ocean - BRIDGES, Ocean and Climate, Deep Seas and ATLASea - covering issues that range from sustainable resource management to marine biodiversity. The organisation also runs the interdisciplinary OMER research network (GDR, groupement de recherche) made up of laboratories from different organisations which acts as an incubator for ideas for future scientific policies. To structure its actions, the CNRS has also developed an ocean strategy based on a Task Force involving all the organisation's ten Institutes. In the framework of the Year of the Sea 2025, the Task Force is working on outreach activities such as a dedicated Science Notebook, a special series on the CNRS website, a photo exhibition and events like the OMER conference days last April.