Global call on governments to commit to banning offshore fossil fuel exploration

The upcoming Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, on June 9-13, 2025, presents a key opportunity to agree on critical conservation measures toward resilient and healthy marine ecosystems fit for climate protection.

Ahead of UNOC3, a coalition of 111 environmental organizations from six continents has published an open letter calling on governments around the world to include a commitment to ban the search for new oil and gas deposits in the seabed and phase out existing extraction in the final declaration of UNOC3.

UNOC3 represents a critical opportunity to advance ocean protection and climate action.

If we truly want to protect the Ocean, we must end the destructive practice of oil and gas exploration in marine environments immediately. These activities cause some of the most intense noise in our seas, with severe and even deadly impacts on marine life – from the smallest plankton to large whales. Meanwhile, the Ocean has already absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat from carbon emissions, leading to rising seas, melting ice, and intensifying marine heatwaves. We cannot continue to exploit the very ecosystems that are buffering us from the worst impacts of climate change. The Third UN Ocean Conference must be a moment of action, not just of empty phrases, explained Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare.

The diverse coalition – including marine conservation organisations, climate justice groups, and environmental NGOs from both the Global North and South – emphasises that continuing to explore for new hydrocarbon reserves is incompatible with meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals and protecting marine ecosystems.

This open letter represents a unified call for coherence between climate and ocean policy. We cannot address the climate emergency without protecting the Ocean, and we cannot save marine ecosystems without tackling fossil fuel production, Nicolas Entrup said.

The letter highlights how billions of dollars continue to be invested in seabed exploration for oil and gas, even within marine protected areas, despite scientific evidence pointing to the urgent need to halt new fossil fuel development.

The search for new deposits involves seismic surveys using powerful airguns that produce some of the loudest human-made sounds in the ocean, causing widespread harm to marine life across entire food webs.

European seas are particularly vulnerable to both climate impacts and direct damage from oil and gas exploration activities, and European governments have a special responsibility to lead on this issue. France, Spain, and Portugal have already banned hydrocarbon exploration in their waters, while some other EU Member States, such as Denmark, have taken serious steps to limit it. Now we need this approach to be adopted and enforced globally in full coherence with the COP28 global commitment to phase out fossil fuels. We’re calling on the EU and its member states to agree on effective conservation and restoration measures in the EU Ocean Pact and to push for strong language in the final declaration of the UN Ocean Conference, said Carlos Bravo, Ocean Policy Expert at OceanCare.

The joint NGO call is part of a broader effort to ensure that the UNOC3 becomes a turning point for ocean protection and climate action.