WRI: The 100% Alliance Will Lead to Sustainable Ocean Management
By Dr. Tom Pickerell
Humanity’s well-being depends on the health of the ocean. As the world’s largest ecosystem, the ocean provides the oxygen necessary for marine life, absorbs 25 percent of our excess carbon dioxide emissions and feeds billions globally.
Like any ecosystem, no matter how large, it’s susceptible to the negative impacts of human activity. The ocean is showing signs of the immense pressure from climate change, pollution and overfishing. This past year saw record-high global temperatures, while the ocean’s oxygen levels are decreasing, and it is becoming more acidic as it absorbs and reacts with increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. All this has repercussions for ocean and planetary health.
A degraded ocean will have a significant economic impact as ecosystem services fail. In fact, it could eventually cost the global economy trillions annually. Yet, of all the UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 14 (the ocean goal) is by far the least funded, representing just 0.01 percent of all SDG funding.
The solution to tackling these challenges lies in a series of interconnected actions, commitments and agreements of how the ocean should be managed sustainably, from national waters to the high seas. This means combining national action to effectively manage and sustainably use the ocean along with international agreements that are already in play, such as the UN High Seas Treaty.
The 19 member countries of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) have committed to 100 percent sustainable management of their national waters. As a group, the Ocean Panel holds substantial influence, led by serving heads of government and representing 50 percent of the world’s coastlines and 45 percent of the world’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
This commitment is guided by Sustainable Ocean Plans, which act as a unifying umbrella for ocean governance and a policy framework that facilitates holistic sustainable use of the ocean while allowing for effective protection and equitable sharing of opportunities. Member countries are making strong progress, with half of them currently implementing and updating their Sustainable Ocean Plans and four member countries finalizing theirs at the time of writing.
Research shows that actionable ocean-based climate solutions can deliver up to 35 percent of the annual greenhouse gas emission cuts needed by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5° C.
However, we cannot address the ocean’s sustainability challenges if some areas are managed while others are left open to exploitation.
In September 2024, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, launched the 100% Alliance, a new campaign calling on all coastal and ocean states to commit to sustainably manage 100 percent of ocean areas under their national jurisdictions by 2030. Led by the government of France, in partnership with the Ocean Panel, and coordinated by the World Resources Institute, the campaign will lead ambitious global action as we approach the next UN Ocean Conference (co-hosted by France and Costa Rica) in Nice, France, in June 2025 and beyond.
Progress is being made on this holistic approach. At COP28 in Dubai, the leaders of the Pacific Islands committed to the goal of 100 percent effective sustainable management of their region; an area five times the size of the United States. In Samoa in October 2024, 56 countries of The Commonwealth adopted a declaration that includes more support for a sustainable blue economy with Sustainable Ocean Plans, recognizing the need for 100 percent management of national waters. Also, Sustainable Ocean Plans are becoming increasingly recognized as critical to ocean governance, for example, through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.
Ensuring national governments adopt this holistic approach to managing their national waters will complement global commitments to protect and conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s ocean by 2030 (known as 30 by 30) and cooperation to sustainably manage areas beyond national jurisdiction (known as the High Seas Treaty). After all, to effectively protect 30 percent, you need to manage the other 70 percent.
Countries joining the 100% Alliance will receive access to the support of leading global institutions dedicated to providing technical and financial assistance to develop and implement Sustainable Ocean Plans.
It has long been thought that the ocean is too big to register the effects of human activity, but it is increasingly clear that the ocean is saying “enough.” It’s evident that a global approach is needed to get ocean health back on track.
As the next UN Ocean Conference approaches, the 100% Alliance has sounded a rallying cry: The ocean gives us so much—let’s give it 100 percent.