Overview

• Fifty-one countries have now ratified the High Seas Treaty, leaving nine more to reach the 60 ratifications required for it to enter into force with a formal ceremony planned for September
• Colombia, Greece and Samoa were among nations that announced new marine protected areas and restrictions on bottom trawling to bolster ocean biodiversity
• Participants denounced President Trump’s push to fast-track deep-sea mining and highlighted July talks at the International Seabed Authority to establish governance rules for seabed exploration
• Despite urgent appeals from small-island states facing rising seas and pollution, wealthy governments offered few new financial commitments to aid vulnerable nations
• More than 90 ministers backed a call for a robust plastics treaty aimed at limiting consumption and production of new plastics to combat marine pollution