10 Steps Needed for Ocean Action Now

The recent United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, which we joined along with leaders from around the world, brought notable accomplishments in its mission to address the mounting threats to the seas, from pledges to reduce the flow of toxins into the water to new financing commitments for ocean economies. But as Peter Thomson, the UN’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, noted as the event closed: “It’s not so much what happens at the conference, it is what happens afterwards.”

So what needs to happen now? The good news is that we have many of the tools. Science and decades of experience have shown us what works. We know how to restore coral reefs, manage fisheries to produce more food and income, and stop fertilizers and untreated sewage from running into the sea. This isn’t a crisis of complexity. It’s a crisis of execution.

What’s missing is broad participation and a focus on clear, immediate, actionable steps. Heads of state, ministers, NGOs, and scientists showed up in force in Nice. But to translate ambitious pledges into durable results, we also need more business leaders at the table. This is an ocean planet. And every company—whether it realizes it or not—depends on the biodiversity, food systems, and shipping routes the ocean sustains. If the ocean fails, we all fail.