The University of Pau at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference
The Conference was preceded by three official special events, including the One Ocean Science Congress, a scientific congress held from June 3 to 6, attended by Stéphanie Reynaud, CNRS Research Director at UPPA (IPREM laboratory) and a nanoplastics specialist.
Ten years after COP21 and the Paris Climate Agreement, the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) aims to bring together the 193 UN member states, their heads of state and government, specialized agencies, civil society, the private sector and international donors, and do for the ocean what was done in 2015 for the climate.
In addition to the official plenary session, dialogue sessions bring together member States, international organizations and representatives of civil society (NGOs, scientists, businesses). These “Ocean Action Panels” aim to highlight the commitment of the various players, and the creation of coalitions and projects in favor of the Ocean, in order to ground the Conference in action by proposing concrete solutions with all its participants.
On June 10, 95 countries signed “The Nice Wake-up Call for an Ambitious Plastics Treaty”.
Table ronde “UN Treaty fo End Plastic Pollution: Robust Science for Success”
On June 10, the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, to which Stéphanie Reynaud is also a member, organized a side event at UNOC3 to present its work since 2022. This coalition brings together 350 independent scientists from 60 different countries who prepare briefing notes for the decision-makers of the International Treaty against Plastic Pollution, either before or during the negotiation sessions.
The round table brought together several scientists from the coalition, experts in the field, and political decision-makers, who addressed:
- The role of harmonized criteria and standards, were they guided by independent science, in supporting the reduction of global plastic pollution;
- The need for evidence-based science for the success of the International Treaty against Plastic Pollution, linked to the need to limit the potential for conflicts of interest in scientific bodies, to indigenous knowledge, and to human rights.
On June 12, Coalition scientists answered numerous questions from the public in English and French on the theme “What does science tell us is essential for a successfull global plastics treaty?”
