5th United Nations Ocean Forum on trade-related aspects of Sustainable Development Goal 14

Distinguished Ambassadors,

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

It is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you to the 5th United Nations Ocean Forum. And to do so here, in Geneva, a city whose great and beautiful lake reminds us that water connects us all.

The great Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar once said, “All fires are the same fire, all seas are the same sea – no matter where we come from, no matter where we are”.

Let me start by thanking our partners and co-chairs for their leadership and commitment to this agenda.

I would particularly like to acknowledge France and Costa Rica as our co-chairs, as well as Portugal and the United Kingdom for their unwavering support of the Ocean Forum.

I also want to express my gratitude to the World Meteorological Organization, FAO, UNEP and all the other UN agencies that have contributed to this important dialogue.

This forum represents a critical milestone on our journey toward the 3rd UN Ocean Conference that will take place not very far from now and not very far from here, in Nice, France, this June.

Our task over these next three days is both very urgent and very specific: to develop coherent, trade-related policy recommendations that will contribute to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Life below water”.

In providing these recommendations, our goal will be to balance two important considerations – prosperity and sustainability – and to prove that these two forces do not contradict but complement each other. That our blue economy does not need to stop being blue to be economic, nor does it need to stop being economic to be blue.

Your excellencies,

For centuries – and still today – the ocean has been the beating heart of global trade, carrying over 80% of the world’s goods and connecting distant shores that have shaped economies, industries and livelihoods. Trade has helped the ocean economy thrive, allowing it to grow 2.5 times faster than the rest of the global economy since 1995. By 2023, total exports of ocean goods and services reached a record high and an absolute number that is comparable to the size of Canada’s entire GDP in the same year, with services playing more than half of its value – to be precise, 60%.

The blue economy also provides two important sources of life: salaries and calories. If we count direct employment, subsistence and secondary sector workers, 600 million people depend on it.

Furthermore, aquatic foods provide at least 20% of the average intake of animal protein for 3.3 billion people. This percentage is even higher in low-income countries, where marine resources play a crucial role in food security.

The blue economy is also a hub for innovation. The marine biotechnology market is projected to reach $6.4 billion by 2025, while trade in marine R&D was valued at $4.2 billion in 2022.

But despite all these benefits, we must recognize a crude fact. Our ocean is being pushed to the brink – over-exploitation, pollution and climate change are threatening the very foundation of the ocean economy. Because of unsustainable use, we are making what could be a sustainable and infinite resource into a finite one.

As it stands, 37.7% of global fish stocks are now over-fished, compared to just 10% in 1974. The ocean economy now accounts for 11% of global CO2 emissions, with shipping alone contributing 2.9%.

And with global temperatures now exceeding the critical 1.5°C threshold, 90% of the additional heat trapped by our emissions is absorbed by the ocean. Seawater warming disrupts marine ecosystems, shifts fish populations, reduces harvests and threatens food security. It also drives sea level rise, which can damage coastal infrastructure, ports and shipping routes, raising maintenance and insurance costs.

And for the small island developing States (SIDS), it is a life-threatening phenomenon.

Most dramatically, our oceans are being flooded by plastic waste. Almost two million tons of plastics end up in the ocean every single year, where they will take almost one thousand years to biodegrade. But despite their great potential, marine-based non-plastic substitutes account for just 1% of global plastics exports.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Faced with this scenario, what can we do?

I want to propose three quick ideas, three key gaps we need to close: A governance gap. A finance gap. And a data gap.

I will start with the governance gap. Part of the issue that we are facing is that the blue economy is developing faster than our governance. A key point here is fisheries subsidies, which remain a major obstacle, distorting markets and incentivizing over-fishing.

According to the World Trade Organization, governments allocate $35 billion annually in fisheries subsidies, with $22 billion directly fueling over-fishing and overcapacity. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted in June 2022, was a historic milestone, but less than 50% of the required WTO members have ratified it.

Other important governance developments provide opportunities. The UN Agreement on Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, also in the process of ratification, is one of them. Another one is the new Nationally Determined Contributions that will be presented this year, a process in which SIDS can lead. Across 39 SIDS, 606 ocean-related measures are included in their NDCs. Here, trade perspectives can help. Only 37% of NDC ocean economy measures incorporate trade tools.

My second point is the finance gap. SDG 14 is severely underfunded, requiring $175 billion annually, with only $30 billion being disbursed in total since 2010.

At the same time, achieving net-zero shipping by 2050 will require around $30 billion in annual investments and $90 billion in infrastructure costs. This is something that we have discussed with the International Maritime Organization, which is taking the lead in trying to make the change for maritime transport.  Adaptation costs for coastal communities are also a priority.

To scale up finance, we must redirect harmful subsidies and leverage innovative financing mechanisms – such as blue bonds, blended finance and debt-for-nature swaps.

Lastly, we have the third gap, which is the data gap. Simply put, we cannot manage what we cannot measure.

While we have robust scientific data on marine ecosystems, we lack comprehensive economic and climate data for the ocean economy. Critical sectors like port activities and shipbuilding have limited time-series data, making it difficult to assess carbon footprints and develop effective mitigation strategies.

UNCTAD has been at the forefront of addressing this challenge. Indeed, most of the data I have shared today is novel and home-grown thanks to our Ocean Trade Database. But we need targeted funding to expand these systems and integrate CO2 emissions data. Better data will enable more informed policy-making and help align ocean economy activities with our climate goals.

Excellencies,

The work ahead of us these next three days is crucial not just for the Nice conference but also for the future of our ocean and the billions of people who depend on it. I encourage you all to engage fully in the discussions, share your expertise and help us forge solutions that balance economic prosperity with environmental stewardship.

Remember, as Cortázar reminds us, all seas are the same sea. What happens to one affects us all. I look forward to productive discussions and meaningful outcomes from our time together.

Thank you.