Nice Ocean Summit opens with veiled criticism of Trump's plans

Nice (France).- The big absentee at the third Summit of the UN on the Oceans in Nice, the American president Donald Trump, has been the target of criticism from certain world leaders due to his expansionist plans and his intention to exploit mining on the seabed.

On the opening day of the event, the host, French President Emmanuel Macron, and, to a lesser extent, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, made these reproaches in a veiled manner, while urging to maintain multilateralism and defend science.

Also joining the criticism was Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country will host COP 30 in the Amazonian city of Belém in November.

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"I say it here loud and clear. The oceanic abysses are not for sale, nor is Greenland conquerable. Antarctica or international waters are not for sale either," Macron declared, in an incisive tone, alluding to Trump's projects.

Without citing it at any moment, the French president emphasized the role that oceans have in climate change and pointed out that it is not "a matter of opinion and yes of scientific facts".

He also spoke of the need to preserve "a free and open science" - in another allusion to the US administration - and ironized about the world's leading power's plans to send a manned mission to Mars.

"Before we rush to Mars, it's better to get to know our best friend, which is the ocean," he said.

Macron considered that in Nice, where 63 heads of state and government have met, it is time to "reinvigorate multilateralism".

In a more institutional speech, Guterres warned that international waters "cannot become the Wild West" and, to regulate it, urged countries to ratify the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).

"Nations are also exploring new horizons in seabed mining: this must be done by balancing justified concerns about environmental impact with the legitimate interest in resources. All this to support a sustainable ocean economy and the transition to green energy," he advocated.

Rejection of seabed depredation

Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced that his country will ratify the BBNJ by the end of the year and, alluding to the Trump administration's plans, called for preventing "the predatory race for minerals" in the oceans.

"We cannot allow what has happened to the rules of international trade, which have been so eroded that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has become practically inoperative, to happen to the ocean," Lula criticized, in a new veiled criticism of his American counterpart.

For the Brazilian head of state, the oceans cannot be turned "into the stage for geopolitical disputes."

Reflecting the lack of interest from the United States in the Nice meeting, Trump sent Edward Russo, who manages environmental issues at the White House, but not a member of his government.

During the plenary session, a complaint from the Russian representative at the Summit drew attention, who accused France of not having granted a visa to a Russian official who allegedly participated in the organization of the summit and in the preparation of the declaration.

Among other participants in this inaugural session, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for the ratification of the BBNJ, adopted in 2023 and which only Spain has ratified from the EU.

"Europe will contribute 40 million euros to the Global Ocean program. So today I ask you all: please accelerate the ratification. The ocean needs us to play our part," appealed Von der Leyen.

Among the 63 heads of state and government present in Nice are the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte; the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and heads of state from the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; from Argentina, Javier Milei; from Paraguay, Santiago Peña; and from Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves.

The latter, co-chair of the Summit alongside Macron, assured that, despite the millions of tons of plastic that end up in the sea each year and that 90% of species are on the verge of overfishing, the ocean can "become a solution if we have the courage and intelligence to change our ways of acting."