"We are fighting a battle against a clearly identified enemy: greed," said António Guterres, before leaving the UNOC Ocean Summit in Nice.

Can the Nice summit be a game-changer for the ocean, on which "our health, our climate and our future depend" ? On the second day of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), which is being held in Nice until Friday, the UN Secretary-General said, "I have never witnessed such a moment in conferences of this type."

António Guterres refers "not only to the countries present, but also to civil society, the economic world, the representation of indigenous communities" , these actors being twice as numerous as at the previous Ocean Summit in Lisbon (2022).

However, he is "not entirely satisfied" : "I would like the developments to be much faster." The senior official is targeting "powerful interests [that] are pushing us dangerously towards the precipice . (...) We are fighting a difficult battle against a clearly identified enemy, its name is greed. This greed sows doubt, denies science, distorts the truth, rewards corruption and destroys life in the name of profit. We cannot let greed dictate the fate of our planet."

"The question is not whether we fish or not, but how we fish."

Urging states to act ( "enough talk" ), António Guterres listed several priorities, starting with the fight against destructive fishing methods: "The question is not whether we fish or not, but how we fish." This implies "protecting and managing at least 30% of marine and coastal areas by 2030."

Second priority: plastic pollution. "By poisoning the ocean, we are poisoning ourselves." Action means eliminating single-use plastics: "All countries must quickly conclude an ambitious, legally binding global treaty . And we hope that will happen this year."

The threshold of +1.5°C is still tenable, if…

In view of the next COP 30, in Belém, Brazil (in November), "countries must present ambitious national climate action plans, urges António Guterres, we must accelerate our transition, this is the main objective of our next COP" .

The UN strongman claims to be leaving Nice "full of energy and hope," despite a record 1.5°C rise in global temperatures between 2023 and 2024. This crossing is symbolic. In a dynamic of global warming, human living conditions and natural systems would be severely disrupted beyond +1.5°C. However, a single year is not enough to characterize this threshold crossing. To assess a climate trend, average temperatures are observed over one or two decades. This still leaves room for adaptation.

"Scientists are very clear: they tell us that 1.5°C is still achievable, as a limit to global warming," reports the Secretary-General. The condition would be "a drastic reduction in emissions by 2035." However, "we are approaching a tipping point beyond which any turning back could become impossible ." The UN has made it "a matter of urgency, which we have not sufficiently perceived."