Over 114,000 Citizens Call for Ocean Protection: OceanCare Delivers Petition to UN Special Envoy
On World Oceans Day 2025, OceanCare formally delivered its “Because Our Planet Is Blue” petition to Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. The petition, supported by 114,559 signatures from citizens worldwide, represents a powerful call for urgent action to address the ongoing marine crisis.
A Symbolic Handover with a Stark Message
Together with the petition signatures, OceanCare Managing Director Fabienne McLellan and campaign lead Nicolas Entrup presented Ambassador Thomson with a symbolic gift: a globe with the oceans coloured red, representing the precarious state of our blue planet. The handover took place at a critical moment as world leaders gather in Nice for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) beginning today.
“This petition gives 114,559 people a voice, who are concerned about the continued decline of the Ocean,” said Fabienne McLellan. “Ambassador Thomson has been a steadfast advocate for marine protection, and we are honoured to entrust him with these citizen voices as negotiators gather in Nice. The Ocean’s health has deteriorated significantly since the last UN Ocean Conference in 2022, despite international commitments.”
Ambassador Thomson's Powerful Response
Ambassador Thomson’s response underscored the urgency of the moment. “Thank you for bringing the attention of the world to the predicament of the Ocean. Yes, red for danger. The ocean is in trouble,” he said. “Every scientific indice shows us that we are heading in the wrong direction at a faster pace than was originally predicted.”
The UN Special Envoy emphasised the intergenerational responsibility at stake: “If we leave the world on its current track of three degrees global warming, we are condemning our grandchildren to an unlivable world. If we can do what we have promised to do, which is keep global warming to 1.5 under the Paris Climate Agreement, through human innovation, they can manage their future.”
Ambassador Thomson concluded with a direct connection to the symbolic red globe: “We have work to do. We have to stay true to the Paris Climate Agreement because that is what is turning this ocean red.”
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Six Demands for Ocean Protection
The “Because Our Planet Is Blue” petition centres on six transformative demands that address the root causes of ocean degradation:
- Ban offshore oil and gas exploration and phase out existing fossil fuel extraction from marine environments
- Implement mandatory vessel speed reduction to protect marine wildlife from ship strikes and reduce underwater noise pollution
- Prohibit destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling that devastate seafloor ecosystems
- Adopt comprehensive plastic pollution rules addressing the full lifecycle of plastics from production to disposal
- Agree on a deep-sea mining moratorium to protect the largely unexplored deep ocean from industrial exploitation
- Ensure effective marine habitat protection and enforce conservation measures to restore ecosystems damaged by human activities
A Year of Growing Support
Launched on World Oceans Day 2024, the campaign mobilised support across multiple countries, reflecting growing public concern about the state of marine ecosystems. The petition signatures represent citizens from around the world who refuse to accept the continued decline of ocean health.
Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare and campaign lead for “Because Our Planet Is Blue”, who attended the handover, emphasised the significance of the response: “The extraordinary response to our campaign demonstrates that people worldwide understand we cannot afford to delay ocean protection any longer. Each signature represents someone who believes that decisive action is possible if governments have the political will to act. We are delivering these voices to the UN Ocean Conference with a clear message: the time for half-measures has passed.”
Critical Moment for Ocean Protection
The handover comes as delegates prepare for what many consider a make-or-break moment for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (“Life Below Water”) by 2030. Current assessments indicate widespread failure to meet the targets, despite the critical role oceans play in sustaining life on Earth.
The Ocean covers more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, provides around 50 percent of global oxygen production, and has absorbed approximately 90 percent of excess heat from rising greenhouse gas emissions. Yet marine heatwaves continue to intensify, an estimated 9 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the Ocean annually, and collision risks between ships and whales remain substantially high.
OceanCare’s Role at UNOC3
OceanCare will be actively participating in the negotiations in Nice, presenting the petition demands to delegates and monitoring whether the conference delivers the transformative action needed to address the marine crisis. The organisation will provide independent assessment of the outcomes and continue advocating for the concrete measures outlined in the petition.
The signatures will serve as ongoing evidence of global citizen demand for urgent ocean protection throughout the five-day conference, as negotiators work to develop commitments that could determine the future health of our planet’s marine ecosystems.
About the Campaign
The “Because Our Planet Is Blue” campaign represents one of the largest citizen mobilisation efforts for ocean protection in recent years. The campaign brought together diverse voices united by concern for marine ecosystems and determination to see meaningful political action on ocean protection.
As the UNOC3 negotiations begin, these 114,559 signatures stand as testament to the growing global movement demanding that governments move beyond aspirational language to implement the concrete measures our oceans desperately need.
