UN Trade and Development at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3)

The ocean covers 70% of Earth’s surface and carries over 80% of global trade.

It supports biodiversity, regulates the climate and underpins food security, jobs and economic growth. In 2023, the ocean economy hit a record $2.2 trillion.

But climate change, overfishing, pollution and underinvestment threaten our ocean, its resources and the livelihoods of over 600 million people who depend on fisheries.

At the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference, we will build on momentum from the 5th UN Ocean Forum held earlier this year, which delivered 15 action points and underscored trade’s vital role in shaping a sustainable and inclusive ocean economy.

The blue economy is growing faster than our governance.

The work at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and beyond is crucial for the future of our ocean and the billions of people who depend on it.

Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Rebeca Grynspan

UNCTAD's agenda at the conference

Types of events:

Green zone Blue zone

10:15 - 11:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Sustainable ocean economy trends Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Onno Hoffmesiter, Project officer, UNCTAD David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Sajal Mathur, Counsellor, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization Lorena Rivera Orjuena, Fisheries Policy Analyst, OECD
13:15 - 14:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Eating fish sustainably: an IQ challenge Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speaker: Elizabeth Dewar, Junior Ocean and Circular Economy Expert, UNCTAD
15:15 - 16:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Diving into the economic data of the oceans Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Onno Hoffmesiter, Project officer, UNCTAD Ludovic Arnaud, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
17:45 - 18:45		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Charting a resilient course — the Paris Agreement, nationally determined contributions and the ocean economy Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Vienna Eleuteri, Initiator and Vice Chair, Water Revolution Foundation

11:00 - 12:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Data and data science for low-carbon food from the ocean Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Onno Hoffmesiter, Project officer, UNCTAD
12:15 - 13:30		UNOC3 Side event: Integrated solutions for sustainable ocean economies – Tough questions answered Room: Room 1, Blue zone Location: Nice Speakers: David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) André Tinoco, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship, Costa Rica Manuel Barange, Assistant Director General and Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

10:15 - 11:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Towards a UN taskforce on seaweed Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Alejandro Rivera Rojas, Industrial Development Officer MSME Development and Job Creation Unit (MDJ) Division of MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (SME), United Nations Industrial Development Organization Melanie Cueff, Research Engineer, and Scientific Officer, National French Research center (CNRS), and Global Seaweed Coalition
11:15 - 12:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Trade, innovation and capacity building — Engaging early career ocean professionals in a sustainable blue economy Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speaker: David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
15:15 - 16:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Currents of change — the power of south-south trade in fisheries and aquaculture Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Katarina Sipic, Secretary-General, EU Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE) and the European Federation of national Organisations of Importers and Exporters of Fish (CEP) Sajal Mathur, Counsellor, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization

10:30 - 11:45		UNOC3 Side event: UN-Oceans as a mechanism to mobilise multilateral ocean action and amplify collective impacts toward the implementation of SDG14 Room: Room 5, Blue zone Location: Nice
16:15 - 17:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Sustainable and climate-resilient ports for food security Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Regina Asariotis, Chief (a.i.) of the Trade Logistics Branch and Chief of the Policy and Legislation Section, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) David Vivas Eugui, Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Onno Hoffmesiter, Project officer, UNCTAD Susanna De Beauville-Scott, Director of the Sustainable Ocean Management Programme, at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission
17:15 - 18:15		La Baleine event at UNOC3: Navigating sustainability: Global insights on aquaculture performance Room: Palais des Expositions, Green zone Location: Nice Speakers: Nam Khanh Pham, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), Vietnam. Carlos Chávez, Professor of Economics, Universidad de Talca, Chile Jorge Marco Renau, Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at, University of Girona, Spain Wisdom Akpalu, Chairperson of the Governing Council, Fisheries Commission, Ghana Ho Quoc Thong, Lecturer & researcher, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH)

08:45 - 10:00		UNOC3 Side event: Toward the creation of a UN task force on seaweed – Raising the level of ambition for a sustainable blue economy Room: Room 4, Blue zone Location: Nice
08:45 - 10:00		UNOC3 Side event: Sustainable fisheries – The role of trade from oceans to plate Room: Room 5, Blue zone Location: Nice Speakers: Angela Ellard, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization André Tinoco, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship, Costa Rica Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
14:00 - 15:15		UNOC3 Side event: Turning the tide: Enhancing ocean equity for Small Island Developing States Room: Room 2, Blue zone Location: Nice Speakers: Emily Wilkinson, Principal Research Fellow, ODI Global and Director of the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative Ali Naseer Mohamed, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, The Maldives Jérémie Pellet, Chief Executive Officer, Expertise France Kiran Atwal, Head, FCDO SIDS Hub Gail Hurley, Co-Director, RESI Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) James Ellsmoor, Co-founder and CEO, Island Innovation