UN Report Calls for Global Action to Halt Ocean Degradation

The Starfish 2026 Barometer report, published in the scientific journal *State of the Planet* and released at the third UN Ocean Conference in 2025, warns that ocean health continues to decline across multiple indicators. The analysis, structured around five dimensions, finds that one‑quarter of the upper 1,000 m of the ocean is already experiencing simultaneous pressures such as warming, acidification and oxygen loss.

Brazilian economist and environmentalist Vininha F. Carvalho noted, "O desconhecimento da sociedade reforça a urgência de ampliar a sensibilização e o engajamento das pessoas sobre o oceano." A survey of 2,000 Brazilian respondents showed only 30 % recognize a direct link between their actions and ocean health. The United Nations has declared 2030–2040 the Decade of the Ocean to boost international cooperation on coastal and marine resource management. The High Ambition Coalition, a group of more than 50 nations, has pledged to end unnecessary plastic pollution by 2040 through mandatory restrictions and circular‑economy investments. Brazil’s exact role in the negotiations remains undecided, but the report stresses that coordinated effort by governments, businesses and civil society is essential to protect the oceans and sustain the planet’s future.