CHENNAI: France has invited TN to join the global coalition on Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience. Dr Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, met CM MK Stalin on Thursday to extend an invitation to a special summit during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, on June 7.
The coalition, launching at the summit, aims to boost international collaboration on sea level rise and coastal challenges, kicking off a week-long UNOC3 with 193 UN member states participating.
Dr Mathou, speaking to TNIE during a visit to Plastic Odyssey, a 40-metre “floating laboratory” tackling plastic pollution, praised Tamil Nadu’s efforts on sea level rise. “States like Tamil Nadu are crucial to this initiative,” he said, noting the coalition will unite coastal cities, regions, and island states globally. He was joined by Herve D M Delphilin, EU Ambassador to India and Bhutan, and other delegates.
Dr Mathou emphasised that the UNOC3 outcome document could be as vital for oceans as the Paris Agreement is for climate change.
The World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) 2024 climate report, confirming last year as the warmest in 175 years, exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
“Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise. The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.