Speech by President Lula at the opening of the Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice (France)

Today I learned something new: I always thought that the city was called Nice because the person who discovered it loved his wife, who was called Nice, and had named the city Nice out of love. But it was actually a result of much struggle. One more lesson I learn.

The second thing: I would like to thank President Emmanuel Macron [of France]. Firstly, for the State visit I made to France. And secondly, for inviting me to take part in this conference. And I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to him and his wife, Brigitte, for the kind welcome they extended to me, my wife, and my delegation.

I would like to salute the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles. To salute our dear António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General, and Philemon Yang, President of the General Assembly.

My dear friends, Heads of State and Government, members of the panel,

Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once said that the water cycle and the cycle of life are one and the same.

We cannot speak of sustainable development without including the ocean.

Without protecting it, we cannot effectively combat climate change.

The survival of three billion people depends directly on marine resources.

The ocean is the planet’s main climate regulator, thanks to the entire chain of life it sustains.

The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, over four decades ago, enshrined for the first time the concept of the "common heritage of humankind."

The creation of this international regime to govern maritime space was one of the greatest achievements in the history of diplomacy.

It was through this commitment to multilateralism that we were able to resolve differences once thought insurmountable.

Today, however, the threat of unilateralism casts a shadow over the ocean.

We must not allow the sea to suffer the same fate as international trade, whose rules were eroded to the point of rendering the WTO inoperative.

Preventing the oceans from becoming a stage for geopolitical disputes is an urgent task in our quest for peace.

Canals, gulfs, and straits must bring us together—not drive us apart.

Curbing a predatory race for seabed minerals requires strong support for the International Seabed Authority, currently led by Brazilian scientist Letícia de Carvalho, to whom I extend my compliments.

Ulterior interests continue to block the creation of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary.

Brazil is committed to ratifying the High Seas Treaty later this year to ensure the transparent and shared governance of biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We take pride in being an oceanic nation.

Brazil’s maritime territory covers 5.7 million square kilometers—an area comparable in size to the Amazon.

That is why we call it the Blue Amazon.

The analogy between the forest and the sea goes beyond the natural wealth they both harbor, or the cultural heritage of the peoples who depend on and care for these biomes.

Both Amazons are suffering the impacts of climate change.

Tropical forests are being pushed toward their tipping point.

The ocean is running a fever.

In just one year, the average sea temperature rose by nearly as much as it had over the previous four decades combined.

Science has proven that the cause of this illness is global warming and the continued use of fossil fuels.

Over the past ten years, the world has produced more plastic than in the entire previous century.

Plastic waste accounts for 80% of all marine pollution.

Saving this biome requires renewed dedication to the implementation of SDG 14 and the Paris Agreement.

Brazil will highlight ocean conservation and sustainable use at COP30, as we did in our Nationally Determined Contribution.

We will also address this issue in other forums, such as the upcoming Brazil–Caribbean Summit and the Ninth Meeting of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, which we will host in 2026.

Here in Nice, we presented seven voluntary commitments related to the protection of marine areas, maritime spatial planning, sustainable fishing, science, and education.

In addition to ending deforestation by 2030, we will expand our protected marine areas from 26% to 30%, meeting the target of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

We will also implement programs dedicated to mangroves and coral reefs, and we are formulating a national strategy to combat plastic pollution in the ocean.

Our unprecedented efforts in maritime spatial planning will enable the balanced use of ocean resources, taking into account environmental impacts and the ecosystem services the ocean provides.

We are promoting sustainable fishing and combating illegal activities that threaten this vital sector for the food security of our population.

We will strengthen scientific data collection through an Integrated Monitoring System and will continue investing in research through the Comandante Ferraz Station in Antarctica.

With UNESCO’s support, Brazil was the first country to include ocean culture in school programs and will continue to train teachers to teach the Blue Curriculum.

In 2025, we will have the world’s largest number of Blue Schools, gathering 515 teaching facilities, 160,000 students, and 2.600 teachers.

Ten years ago, Paris became a landmark for climate governance. Today, Nice becomes part of the roadmap to Belém.

Together with the United Nations, Brazil will launch a “Global Ethical Balance” to mobilize thinkers, artists, intellectuals and religious leaders, youth, women, Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and people of African descent in the lead-up to COP30.

We need to build a great wave to shape a fairer and more sustainable future.

My dear friends,

I would like to close my remarks by telling our Secretary General, our friend Guterres, that we must make three extremely important decisions at COP30.

First, the decision to convince the world’s Heads of State that the climate issue is not an invention of the scientists, nor is it a joke started by those at the UN. The climate issue is a vital need to preserve our environment, and we will have to make a decision.

First, we either believe it or not. If we do, we will have to decide that there is no other space for us to live in, it is Planet Earth.

Second: that the climate issue can decimate humanity. We must know if we believe in that.

Third: we need to tell Heads of State that we must begin investing in climate education at the elementary school level. Because after the age of 18, we end up having to put up signs saying “this is prohibited” or “that is forbidden” for rebellious young people who do not want to follow the rules.

It is much cheaper and much easier for us to start betting on the idea that the planet will be cared for when we change our school curriculum and include climate issues—so that children learn, from daycare through university, that they need to take care of the environment they live in.

Thank you very much. I want to conclude by inviting all of you to come to Brazil in November, to the Amazon.

Those who wish to visit the Amazon, who so vehemently defend the Amazon, must visit it and come to COP30. So that people can understand that underneath every tree we wish to preserve, there is a child, an Indigenous person, a fisherman or woman, a rubber tapper, an extractivist, a human being.

This is why rich countries need to pay their debt related to greenhouse gas emissions.

A warm embrace, and see you in Brazil, God willing.