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The new global pact to save the ocean

Covering nearly two-thirds of the world's oceans, the high seas have been hit by overfishing, shipping traffic and plastic pollution, while emerging risks such as deep-sea mining and marine carbon dioxide removal proposals loom on the horizon. Although these waters were already subject to international law, there was no comprehensive global framework specifically designed to protect them. With the UN High Seas Treaty (formally known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, or BBNJ, Agreement) entering into force on January 17, 2026, a new legal framework for conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in these shared waters is now in place. Also in today's newsletter, explore China's integrated approach to ecological restoration and its contributions to global biodiversity conservation, as well as a recent Lancet report calling for climate change to be declared a "global health emergency" after heat caused three million deaths between 2016 and 2023.

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