Welcome to another edition of Climatebase Weekly (Thursday, October 2nd, 2025).

In today’s edition…

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🌎 The Undercurrent: Ocean Protection Treaty Goes into Force

Quick reminders:

By Abigail Bassett 

Last week, Morocco and Sierra Leone became the 59th and 60th countries to ratify the High Seas Treaty, a deal that will pave the way for the protection of international waters. In 120 days (January 2026), there will be a binding international law that will regulate international waters, covering roughly two-thirds of the Earth’s ocean area.  

This breakthrough represents a rare instance in recent years when global multilateralism has resulted in enforceable rules that protect the planetary commons. The achievement, however, raises several urgent questions as well. Will the treaty provide genuine protection for marine ecosystems in peril? Will it shift the balance of power towards ocean conservation in a world increasingly governed by the rule of markets and national self-interest?

Known also as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ), the treaty covers all oceans beyond countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) or areas extending 200 nautical miles from a coastline. These waters play a significant role in the global ecosystem, playing host to migratory species including whales, sharks, sea turtles, and more, deep-sea ecosystems, free-swimming fish stocks, and connective corridors that underpin global marine diversity. The open ocean also plays a significant role in finance  and communication, serving as a thoroughfare for global shipping, a conduit for undersea communications cables, and a channel for technology and undersea mining. 

Despite its ecological and economic importance, only about 1% of the high seas is actually formally protected. That's because of fragmented governance, a lack of legal tools, and the challenges of coordinating between so many different states and countries. These challenges have historically left the world’s oceans vulnerable and unprotected from overfishing, pollution, and the growing threat of deep-sea mining. 

For nearly two decades, negotiators tried to build a legal framework to fill the gap. The result is the BBNJ, which was officially adopted in 2023; however, the treaty remained toothless until it was ratified last week. 

There are four core pillars to the High Seas Treaty. First, it empowers countries to propose new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the high seas, with each proposal subject to scientific and technical review before adoption. 

Second, it requires Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for activities such as fishing expansion, mining, or infrastructure projects, ensuring that they cause minimal harm to fragile marine ecosystems. 

Third, it establishes rules for the equitable sharing of benefits derived from ocean genetic resources with potential pharmaceutical or industrial applications, with particular emphasis on supporting developing nations. 

Finally, it mandates capacity building and technology transfer between states and countries, especially those with limited resources, so that these countries have access to the training, funding, and tools needed to participate fully in the stewardship of the world’s oceans.

But these provisions come with significant caveats. Nations will be left to conduct their own EIAs, creating the risk of uneven standards and weak enforcement. Legal experts also question whether the treaty has the authority to halt destructive practices like overfishing or deep-sea mining, or whether it merely recommends restrictions to existing bodies. And crucial financial and monitoring systems remain incomplete, leaving a gap between the treaty’s ambition and the reality in the water.

Although the ratification of the treaty is remarkable, and the momentum it gained in just over two years puts it ahead of comparable treaties, the hard part is still to come. 

There are plenty of things to watch in the first year, once the treaty becomes law. 

The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) will take place, MPAs will be established, and compliance and monitoring frameworks will need to be agreed on. A funding architecture will need to be created, and the treaty will also need to be ratified by non-parties to close some of the loopholes (there are still outstanding ratifiers). Finally, fisheries, shipping, plastic, and seabed mining jurisdictions will need to align with the new rules.

It couldn’t come at a more important time, either. The ocean is already under significant threat due to a range of factors, including heatwaves and economic disruptions. Marine heatwaves are a result of long-term climate change caused by human activities, and these persistent warming events are inflicting damage on everything from plankton to large predators. As a result of these prolonged, hotter events, there has been a significant increase in coral bleaching worldwide, affecting 84% of coral reefs. Bleaching impacts everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe, and coral reefs are one of the canaries in the coal mine for global warming. The heatwaves also impact migratory species that use the open ocean to move from summer to winter grounds each year, and the timing of the treaty could not be more vital. 

The High Seas Treaty will not erase decades of overfishing, pollution, and climate-driven damage, but it represents one of the most important legal tools ever created to safeguard the global ocean commons. It sets a precedent for shared stewardship, demonstrating that cooperation across nations is still possible in an era defined by division and short-term self-interest. Yet its success will depend on how quickly governments turn signatures into action. The treaty enters into force in January 2026, but the world cannot afford another paper promise. Oceans generate 80% of the oxygen we breathe, regulate the climate, and sustain economies and cultures across the globe. Whether the High Seas Treaty becomes a true turning point or a missed opportunity will be decided not in conference halls but in the waters themselves.

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