The UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Ambassador Peter Thomson has announced the launch of a new report, the 30x30 Ocean Action Plan – a call to action for governments and stakeholders to align efforts, scale up protection, and seize opportunities presented by international agreements to close the gap and protect ocean ecosystems critical to climate resilience, food security, and community livelihoods.
Unveiled by Thomson at the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), 30x30 was prepared by Friends of Ocean Action in collaboration with organisations Blue Action Fund, Blue Marine Foundation, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, Mercuria, Minderoo Foundation and Oceano Azul Foundation, and with the strategic support of UNEP and IUCN.
“This Action Plan distils insights from those already delivering on-the-water action to achieve the protection of our blue planet. The report offers a frank assessment of current protection, identifies key opportunities to accelerate progress, and outlines strategic actions to catalyse political will, mobilise finance, and empower communities and institutions,” Thomson said. “We have five years to get this right. The Action Plan aims at building the momentum to make that so. We know what works. We know who is leading. We know where support is needed. Now is the time for urgent ocean action.”
As of June 2025, only 8.3% of the ocean is designated as marine protected areas (MPAs), and just 2.7% is fully or highly protected.
In recent report, The Ocean Protection Gap: Assessing Progress toward the 30x30 Target, it was calculated that just US$1.2 billion a year currently flows to ocean protection efforts, which is a fraction of the $15.8 billion needed annually to deliver 30x30. It highlights that protecting 30% of the ocean could unlock around $85 billion per year by 2050 in avoided costs and annual returns from just three key benefits alone: preserving natural coastal defences, avoiding carbon emissions from seagrass loss, and restoring overexploited fisheries.
Alfredo Giron, Head of Ocean at the World Economic Forum commented: “Put simply, our economies and societies cannot function without the services that nature, and our ocean, provide. As such, business must move from compliance to co-leadership. From minimising harm to maximising positive impact.:
He added: “Ocean industries such as energy, ports, shipping, tourism, tech, and seafood, should not be just users of ocean space, they should be one of the most avid stewards of its future. It is critical that ocean industries have a seat at the table when it comes to safeguarding our ocean for future generations. Through maximising opportunities to collaborate, we can deliver action for our ocean at a far greater, and faster, scale.”
30x30 reviews relevant mechanisms and evaluates a set of large MPAs under potential consideration. If fully realised these in design MPAs could boost global ocean protection by an additional 4%, raising total global marine protection to 12.3%.
Noting this still falls far short of meeting the ambition of 30% by 2030; the action plan calls for the creation of a collective movement to accelerate results, noting the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement as a key opportunity to do so.
“The report clearly shows we need to urgently step up our efforts on coverage, which includes ensuring that areas under protection are well managed with effective, inclusive governance and engagement of local communities. The Regional Seas Conventions will play an important role here, bridging on-the-ground realities, regional collaboration and global frameworks including the CBD’s Global Biodiversity Framework and the BBNJ Agreement,” said Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UN Environment Programme.
The report identifies systemic barriers to progress, including fragmented data, political inertia, inclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities, financing, insufficient implementation, and the effective use of available science and tools, and outlines a two-pronged Action Plan to accelerate progress:
- Enable Global Conditions for Success: Ratify and operationalize the BBNJ Agreement, align national strategies with global commitments, secure long-term financing, and strengthen international coordination, monitoring, and data systems
- Accelerate Protection in Key Geographies: Support countries to expand protections in national waters, develop high seas MPAs aligned with BBNJ provisions, and empower IPLCs through inclusive governance, legal recognition, and resourcing
The launch of the action plan is intended to catalyse concerted efforts towards achieving 30x30, and to be used to support in the development and implementation of clear, robust, national roadmaps to be presented at the next Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) taking place in Armenia next year.
