On 12 June 2025, the IPBC was among the co-organisers of a side event to the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3, 9-13 June 2025, Nice, France) on “Improving the Integration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems into Global and European Regulatory Frameworks”, together with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, JPI Oceans and C-BLUES.
The event was opened by representatives from the conference hosts – France and Costa Rica, the Director General of the European Commission DG MARE, Ms. Charlina Vitcheva and the Australian Sherpa to the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, Mr. Russell Reichelt.
The event was structured around two segments including presentations from experts from JPI Oceans, C-BLUES and the French Development Agency, and a panel discussion tackling the question of how international and national cooperation can help with the integration of blue carbon into policy, regulatory and financial frameworks.
Key takeaways from the event include:
- Blue carbon ecosystems are recognized as nature-based solutions across multiple international and regional frameworks, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
- Partnerships, including multi-stakeholder partnerships, are critical to supporting countries with the improved integration of blue carbon into key national policies and strategies such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the Paris Agreement and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), backed by the latest available science.
- Innovative finance mechanisms like public-private partnerships (PPPs) are needed to scale up blue carbon action in every country.
At the event, the IPBC welcomed the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) of Thailand as the latest IPBC Partner.
Also during this side event, UNESCO-IOC launched the Blue Carbon Finance Toolbox, a guidance document that provides a comprehensive overview of financial mechanisms and strategies to support the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of blue carbon ecosystems. This document was an initiative of the High Level Ambition Group on blue carbon (HILAG) and benefitted from the expert contributions and review of several IPBC Partners.
At the Ocean Action Panel 7: Leveraging Ocean, Climate and Biodiversity Interlinkages, IPBC Focal Group member and chair of the UN Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon (GO-BC) Prof. Bill Austin delivered a statement on behalf of GO-BC calling for blue carbon ecosystems to feature with greater emphasis as Nature-based Solutions in climate change adaptation and coastal management planning. GO-BC commits to support any party seeking independent blue carbon scientific advice and recommends that all parties develop a national blue carbon roadmap towards achieving mitigation and adaptation objectives.
The conference culminated in the adoption of the Nice Ocean Action Plan — a two-part roadmap featuring a new political declaration titled “Our ocean, our future: United for urgent action” and over 800 voluntary commitments from governments, UN agencies, scientists, and civil society. The declaration calls for stronger conservation measures, sustainable ocean-based economies, and accessible financing to deliver on existing international commitments.
The conference was also preceded by three special events: the One Ocean Science Congress – where IPBC Partner from Madagascar gave a talk on “Stakeholder Involvement and Coordination in the Management of Mangroves in Madagascar” during a thematic session on coastal resilience convened by UNESCO-IOC, and where IPBC Partner GO-BC held their Town Hall meeting – the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Summit (7 June 2025, Nice, France) – co-organised by the City of Nice and IPBC Partner Ocean & Climate Platform, and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF, 7-8 June 2025, Monaco), where a collective of United Nations agencies and global partners launched the co-design process for the One Ocean Finance Facility.