Tipping points or turning point? Science-based priorities for the ocean we need

These scientific priorities aim to ensure the Conference becomes a turning point for ocean sustainability, grounded in the best available knowledge and committed to urgent, collective action.

The ocean is undergoing rapid and profound changes driven by the combined impacts of multiple pressures, such as climate change, pollution, and overexploitation. These stressors are weakening marine ecosystems, disrupting their capacity to support life and regulate the climate, and are threatening the wellbeing of communities worldwide.

UNOC-3 offers a critical opportunity for governments, scientists, and civil society to advance coordinated, science-based action to prevent further harm and support a more resilient and sustainable future for the ocean.

Placing the world ocean at the centre of the sustainable development agenda will not just be necessary but also the most strategic investment for our future. The ISC stands ready to work with governments and other stakeholders involved in UNOC-3 and in delivering on the UNOC action agenda.

Salvatore Aricò

Salvatore Aricò

CEO

International Science Council

Salvatore Aricò

A key outcome of UNOC-3 will be the adoption of the Political Declaration, which aims to provide a clear framework for strengthening global efforts to protect ocean health. To help ensure the Declaration reflects the latest scientific knowledge, the ISC ocean expert group has identified science-based priorities to inform negotiations and support coordinated action that addresses the scale and urgency of the challenges facing the ocean.

Ocean at a tipping point: Science-based priorities for UNOC-3

The expert group brought together a diverse range of geographies and expertise, from marine science to ocean economics, climate science, urban planning, and sustainable development. As a result of this extensive scientific collaboration, the ISC is releasing this high-level briefing on science-based priorities for UNOC-3: Ocean at a tipping point: Science-based priorities for UNOC-3.

Ocean at a tipping point: Science-based priorities for UNOC-3

© International Science Council, 2025.

The message from scientists is loud and clear: The ocean is approaching multiple tipping points, and the role of science in driving ocean action has never been more critical.

Scientists have identified five science-based priorities for UNOC-3:

• Priority 1: The ocean is at a tipping point. It is undergoing unprecedented disruptions due to escalating climate change, pollution and overexploitation. These compounding stressors are pushing marine ecosystems toward collapse with potential irreversible consequences for life on Earth. The 2025 UN Ocean Conference must lead to science-based, action-oriented collective commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), reduce local pressures and protect marine ecosystems before we reach irreversible tipping points. 
• Priority 2: Current fragmented and ineffective ocean governance is failing both people and nature. Science must inform an integrated, ecosystem-based governance that enhances the resilience of marine ecosystems to compounding stressors, including over-exploitation, ocean warming, acidification and pollution, and prevents further environmental degradation. The 2025 UN Ocean Conference must deliver commitments to promote a transformative, coordinated approach to ocean governance, strengthen legal frameworks, develop and enforce science-based ocean policies, align short term economic and policy incentives with long term ocean conservation goals, and strengthen marine protections to prevent irreversible losses and support adaptation. 
• Priority 3: Strengthening ocean science and monitoring is essential for informed decision-making. A science-based approach to achieving ocean sustainability requires expanded investment in long-term ocean observation systems, ocean science and technology, and data-sharing to drive informed policies and sustainable solutions. The 2025 UN Ocean Conference must advocate for stronger global ocean science capacity to better understand, protect and restore the ocean, and to support evidence-based decision-making. It is crucial for avoiding irreversible damage. 
• Priority 4: Coastal communities, particularly in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), face escalating risks from rising seas, extreme weather events, and ecosystem collapse. Intensifying ocean-related disasters are driving up socioeconomic costs, exposing the vulnerability of interconnected economic and social systems and posing a growing threat to sustainable development. The UN Ocean Conference must call for stronger commitments and investment in coastal resilience, enhanced early warning systems, and climate adaptation funding, ensuring support reaches the most vulnerable communities. 
• Priority 5: Achieving long-term ocean health and resilience requires urgent increases in financial commitments and enhanced international collaboration. Without adequate and sustained funding, conservation, adaptation, and sustainable ocean management – efforts will fall short of the scale needed to address growing ocean challenges, particularly in vulnerable regions. The 2025 UN Ocean Conference must secure financial commitments from public and private sectors, enhance international collaboration and close financial gaps, by mobilizing new investment sources. 

For a sustainable future for both humans and the rest of nature, the Ocean – as a pivotal part of Earth system functioning – will need to be recognized, appreciated, utilized and managed with consideration of whole ecosystems, where all parts and users are considered together. This will require transformation of how we value all ocean life, and how we interact with and use our ocean resources.

Lynne Shannon

Lynne Shannon

Deputy Director/Principal Researcher

MARIS, University of Cape Town

Lynne Shannon

UNOC-3: The critical turning point for ocean sustainability

The International Science Council (ISC) is actively contributing to the third United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 (UNOC-3), co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, and taking place in Nice from 9 to 13 June 2025. Through its ocean expert group and extensive scientific networks, the ISC is ensuring that evidence-based solutions and interdisciplinary insights shape the conference outcomes.

Call to action for ISC Members to share ocean-related resources and activities around UNOC-3: To help inform discussions and highlight how the scientific community is supporting ocean sustainability, we invite you to share relevant resources by submitting them through the form at the bottom of this page.

As we learn more about the Ocean, we realize not only the crucial role of a well-functioning Ocean in providing sustainable food and energy to a growing population, but also discover a tremendous variability of life. The future we all want depends on maintaining a healthy Ocean.

Peter Haugan

Peter Haugan

Policy Director

Institute of Marine Research, Norway

Peter Haugan

These science-based priorities for UNOC-3 have informed the ISC ocean expert group’s written inputs to the Zero Draft of the Political Declaration. This analysis aims to strengthen the Declaration by incorporating multidisciplinary scientific insights, urging a more integrated, evidence-based and equity-driven approach to ocean conservation, use and sustainable governance.

Failure to act now risks irreversible changes to the ocean, jeopardizing the health and future of the ocean as well as marine and human lives. By integrating these scientific insights, UNOC-3 can – and must – serve as the turning point, shifting our trajectory away from further ocean degradation to a future rooted in ocean sustainability.

Picture by wirestock on Freepik.

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