Italian
Venice takes center stage at the UN Conference on Oceans in Nice
NICE. Venice confirms itself at the center of international attention for its commitment to fighting climate change, playing a leading role in the third United Nations Conference on Oceans and the Mediterranean, currently taking place in Nice. A strategic event that brings together governments, the scientific community, local authorities, and civil society to address the changes that threaten coastal cities and marine balance.
The event, co-organized by France and Costa Rica, attracted over 100 heads of state and government and dozens of ministers, along with about 4,000 government officials and 6,000 representatives of civil society (NGOs, businesses, and citizens). Additionally, another 2,000 scientists and researchers complete the picture. The official agenda is structured around three priority objectives in line with SDG14: completion of multilateral negotiations concerning the oceans, mobilization of financial resources for the blue economy, and enhancement of scientific knowledge for more effective policy decisions.
The presence of the lagoon city was preceded by active participation in the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition, a preparatory event for the summit that saw the intervention of the Environment Councilor Massimiliano De Martin. His contribution stood out for its concrete and project-oriented approach, being able to recount many specific examples.
“I talked about the Mose – De Martin reported – but also about the barriers protecting the Basilica of San Marco, the new sewer systems, the renovation of the aqueduct network, and interventions on the waterways of the mainland. Great interest was expressed in the integrated water management: water retention basins, lifting plants, drainage pumps, and adaptive infrastructures. And on the Mose I was able to confirm: it works. Even those who were skeptical, after over a hundred lifts, now recognize its value. On World Oceans Day, we brought results, not just analysis.”
International attention has focused on Venice’s ability to turn visions into actions, demonstrating how environmental engineering and urban governance can work together to address climate uncertainty. The city has been selected to participate in the panel “From data collection to risk analysis,” further evidence of the credibility it has gained on a global level.
Venice’s presence in Nice fits into the path traced by the recent Nautical Salon and the Venice Climate Week, coming to a close today, as a testament to a continuous commitment that finds its most effective synthesis in the definition coined by Mayor Luigi Brugnaro: “Venice is not just a city on planet Earth, but the capital of the planet Water.” A vision that goes beyond the symbolic dimension to become an operational proposal: a model of urban resilience that can inspire many other realities.
Exactly one year ago, on June 7, 2024, aboard the schooner Tara, a real floating scientific station, the mayor had signed the accession to the Ocean Rise and Resilience Coalition, indicating a path of international cooperation based on water as an element that connects, rather than divides, the communities of the planet.
Consistently with this approach, Venice is relaunching today the proposal for a “Blue Deal”: a collective commitment aimed at governments, regions, cities, and economic actors to support the adoption of distributed marine technologies, adaptive infrastructures, new hydro-related professions, and sustainable entrepreneurial models.
Even the host, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, in his institutional greeting mentioned Venice several times, indicating it as an emblematic example of a city that coexists with water and continues to invest to stay alive. A significant recognition for an experience that continues to speak to the world.
