Launch of the Ocean Rise and Resilience Coalition

At the One Planet - Polar Summit in Paris, the French President Emmanuel MACRON announced a new stage in the fight against rising sea levels: the launch of the Ocean Rise and Resilience Coalition. The President of the Republic entrusted Christian ESTROSI, Mayor of Nice, with the creation of this mission. The city of Nice and the Riviera region have been hard affected by the dramatic consequences of climate change, particularly in the aftermath of recent natural disasters such as storms Alex and Aline.

The Ocean Rise and Resilience Coalition aims to bring together coastal communities around the world threatened by rising sea levels and all the consequences of climate change. By 2100, nearly a billion of the planet's inhabitants will be faced with this vital issue.

The Coalition structures its action around three themes:

1. Scientific cooperation and natural disaster prevention;

2. Decentralized cooperation between local authorities;

3. The mobilization of multilateral and private funding to carry out the actions required to meet this challenge.

The City of Nice is firmly committed to a resilience approach that integrates decentralized cooperation, collective action and knowledge sharing. For example, the City and Metropolis of Nice Côte d'Azur have set up a High Council for Climate and Local Biodiversity, made up of distinguished scientists recognized for their work on resilience and adapting cities to the ecological transition. The city and metropolis can also call on the services of an in-house risk prevention agency. Nice also has direct connections with more than 120 cities worldwide, as well as numerous twinnings and cooperative partnerships. Nice chairs the Euromed Cities Network. In this capacity, Nice can play a leading role in bringing together coastal communities and building a platform for exchange to create the multilateralism of the 21st century through territories.

It is in this context that the United Nations, which has entrusted the organizationofthe3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) to France and Costa Rica, has agreed by consensus of the General Assembly to give Nice the responsibility of organizing a special event dedicated to coastal cities, coastal regions and island states on June 7, 2025, the eve of World Ocean Day, and just prior to the start of the United Nations Conference, which will begin in Nice on June 9 and end on June 13, 2025.

On the occasion of the Summit of Coastal Cities, Coastal Regions and Island States, chaired by Christian ESTROSI, Mayor of Nice, President of the Metropole Nice Côte d'Azur, Deputy President of the Region SUD - Provence, Alpes, Côte d'Azur, Nice will officially launch the Ocean Rise and Resilience Coalition, which is currently under construction with all stakeholders (coastal cities and regions worldwide, international organizations, multilateral development banks, NGOs, associations, foundations, public and private stakeholders, etc.). The cities and regions of Europe and the Mediterranean will have a special role to play here, as the consequences of global warming are, according to the latest reports, more sensitive than elsewhere, and their future is already at stake.