10 June 2025 - The ocean is under siege ¨C and greed is to blame. UN Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres on Tuesday urged world leaders and grassroots groups to confront the powerful interests driving marine destruction, from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
Mr. Guterres¡¯ stark assessment came during a press conference on the second day of the UN ocean summit, known as , where hundreds of government leaders, scientists and civil society groups are gathered on France¡¯s C?te d¡¯Azur. Their mission: to confront the escalating emergency facing the world¡¯s oceans.
Greed is a ¡®clear enemy¡¯
¡°We are in Nice on a mission ¨C save the ocean, to save our future,¡± the Secretary-General said, and warned that a tipping point is fast-approaching ¡°beyond which recovery may become impossible.¡±
The ¡°clear enemy¡± that is pushing our oceans towards the brink is greed.
According to the UN chief, greed sows doubt, denies science, distorts truth, rewards corruption and destroys life for profit. ¡°We cannot let greed dictate the fate of our planet,¡± he insisted.
Calling on all stakeholders to assume their responsibility in pushing back against these profit-hungry forces, the Secretary-General said: ¡°That is why we are here this week: to stand in solidarity against those forces and reclaim what belongs to us all.¡±
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