Launch of the Space4Ocean Alliance as an official side-event of UNOC 3

16 June 2025
# Ocean

On Monday, June 9, as part of UNOC 3, the creation of the Space4Ocean Alliance was officially signed between 27 international partners. Among the signatories, in addition to the French CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), which initiated the proposal, agencies or offices in charge of space-related issues and scientific institutions from Germany, Argentina, Canada, China, Gabon, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Senegal, etc.; international organizations such as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA); the European Space Agency (ESA); the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC); and end users of space data relating to the ocean, such as the Coalition of Coastal Cities and Regions, chaired by the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, which already represents more than one billion inhabitants of coastal areas.The signing took place at the Côte d’Azur Observatory (OCA), a public establishment located above Nice, in the presence of the French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Philippe Baptiste; the Monegasque Minister of Foreign Affairs, Isabelle Berro-Amadei; the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries, Marianne Sivertsen Naess; the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi; the European Space Agency astronaut, Thomas Pesquet; among others.

 

The Space4Ocean Alliance aims to contribute to the achievement of SDG 14 by building bridges between:

  • users of marine and maritime spatial data, primarily developing countries impacted by the effects of climate change (sea-level rise, etc.) and lacking space forces;
  • the UN;
  • scientists working on defining the relevant criteria for monitoring ocean health;
  • the producers of this data, in order to identify users’ needs and the potential gaps.

The Space4Ocean Alliance is intended to be expanded to include more and more end users and ensure that it effectively addresses their priority needs.

 

The document establishing the Space4Ocean Alliance, signed by all partners, was presented on June 13 at the closing of UNOC 3 by the President of CNES, François Jacq, to ​​the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson.

 

Knowing and Acting is one of CNES's consultants, alongside oceanographer Ariel Fuchs, for the implementation of its maritime strategy and the establishment and management of the Space4Ocean Alliance.

 

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