In Nice, Macron calls for « mobilization » and announces that the High Sea Treaty will be ratified – Liberation

« If the earth warms up, the ocean is in turmoil ». Emmanuel Macron called for « mobilization » This Monday, June 9, at the opening of the UN conference on the oceans in Nice (southeast of France). « The first answer is therefore multilateralism », said the French president, before insisting: « Climate like biodiversity is not a question of opinion, it is a question of scientifically established facts. »

He also confirmed that The High Sea Treaty,, Aiming the protection of areas located beyond 370 kilometers from the coast, will be ratified by enough countries to be able to come into force. « In the fifty ratifications already deposited here in recent hours, fifteen countries have formally committed to joining them », he explained. “This means that the political agreement is obtained, which allows us to say that this treaty on the high seas will be well implemented. It is therefore won. «  The treaty will come into force 120 days after the 60th ratification, minimal number to be reached, without the French president specifying a date. France initially wanted to obtain these 60 ratifications by the Nice Conference.

For more than fifteen years, states around the world have been trying to negotiate a text framing the governance of the high seas, this immensity representing 64 % of the total ocean area and 45 % of that of the globe. In March 2023, the International Treaty for High Sea Protection and Marine Biodiversity was adopted unanimously by the UN member countries.

It provides for several provisions: the creation of large -scale protected marine areas to deal with the pressure exerted by human activities and climate change; The obligation for states and private companies to carry out impact studies of their activities for the exploitation of these waters: sharing « Just and fair » access and marketing of marine genetic resources and their sequencing data.