Today, as part of a coalition of more than 100 environmental organisations from six continents, Marine Connection is supporting an open letter by OceanCare, calling on governments 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 the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3). The conference, scheduled for June 2025 in Nice, France, represents a critical opportunity to advance ocean protection and climate action.
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 international climate goals and protecting marine ecosystems.
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.
Oil and gas activities at sea:
Harm marine life directly, by using seismic surveys that blast soundwaves every 10–15 seconds, disturbing species from krill to whales
Lead to infrastructure that fragments important habitats
Worsen climate change that’s warming the seas beyond the 1.5°C threshold
Counteract conservation goals at the most basic level
The joint NGO call is part of a broader effort to ensure that the UNOC3 becomes a turning point for both ocean protection and climate action.
