Throughout 2025, Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) advanced aquatic animal welfare across multiple United Nations (UN) forums, most visibly at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), and, currently, at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30). UNOC3 culminated in the Nice Ocean Action Plan (A/RES/79/314), a political declaration that set priorities on fisheries, biodiversity, climate resilience, and the blue economy. As lead discussant on SDG 14 at the HLPF, ALI delivered the first-ever intervention on aquatic animal welfare, moving the conversation from visibility to institutional relevance within the UN’s sustainability architecture. And at COP30 this week, ALI is providing three presentations on sustainable aquatic food systems in the UN FAO pavilion and the Food Root and Routes Pavilion.

Upstream Levers

ALI used a multi-channel strategy to insert welfare into UN processes where global norms are defined and policy language is shaped. At UNOC3, ALI’s written submission entered the official record, and an oral intervention during Ocean Action Panel 5 reframed welfare as a prerequisite for sustainable fisheries. In partnership with the World Federation for Animals (WFA), ALI co-organized a UN-recognized side event on animal welfare and ocean resilience, aligning welfare with SDG-14 delivery. We also participated in UNESCO-IOC’s Blue Thread Initiative under the UN Decade of Ocean Science, positioning welfare within emerging science-policy cooperation and knowledge-sharing frameworks through 2030.

The theme of the 2025 HLPF was, “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.” ALI’s intervention prominently tied aquatic animal welfare to SDG indicators on biodiversity, food security, livelihoods, and public health, elevating welfare from advocacy rhetoric to policy-relevant infrastructure for achieving the 2030 Agenda. This was the only statement to introduce animal welfare into the official SDG 14 dialogue, drawing immediate attention to a dimension of ocean governance that had long been absent from international discussions. 

At COP30 this week, Aquatic Life Institute is ensuring that aquatic animals have a clear and credible voice in climate decision-making. Through our contributions across the Blue Zone, we are underscoring that blue food systems cannot deliver true sustainability without meaningful welfare protections and demonstrating how the wellbeing of aquatic species shapes progress on the SDGs, strengthens climate resilience, and supports a just transition in food systems. We are also showcasing the Animals for Climate Action tool, which equips governments with practical guidance for embedding animal welfare into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and broader climate commitments. Together, these efforts are helping shift global climate policy toward an approach that recognizes and includes the invisible majority.

2025 Outcomes

This year, our multi-pronged strategy resulted in an exceptional level of visibility and legitimacy at the United Nations. 

ALI’s name, statements, and side-event roles are on the UNOC3 record and anchored to the Nice Ocean Action Plan, now a reference point for future insertions of welfare language. 

We delivered the first recorded welfare intervention in SDG-14’s HLPF and created a precedent: aquatic animal welfare can be argued, and heard, as necessary to achieving sustainability and resilience goals, not separate from them. 

“At Aquatic Life Institute, we focus on embedding aquatic animal welfare into ocean governance. We do this through advocating for science-based solutions, eliminating inhumane practices, and ensuring that sustainability is never pursued at the expense of the suffering of other animals,” our Managing Director, Sophika Kostyniuk, emphasized to an audience of over 150 UN country delegates.

And, stay tuned for updates on outcomes from our team’s week COP30, happening now, which will be in ALI’s upcoming annual report.

What’s Next

The United Nations carries immense signaling power. If aquatic animal welfare is established as a legitimate component of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) targets, and One Health objectives, this could allow higher welfare priorities to transcend regional advocacy and become an ingrained element of the frameworks that permeate mandatory governance norms across the globe. By focusing on such high-leverage venues, ALI strives to institutionalize aquatic animal welfare as a feature of sustainability that will define the next generation of global food systems.

In 2026, ALI will leverage its established credibility among the United Nations to translate advocacy into measurable systems change. One of our top priorities will be pursuing engagement opportunities with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which recently committed to new global animal health and sustainability plans, aligning food production with welfare, resilience, and planetary boundaries. In addition, ALI will seek to contribute to the Blue Transformation framework and the Committee on Fisheries 37 (COFI 37) to advance aquatic animal welfare as an operational pillar in aquaculture and fisheries governance. Following this week at COP30, we will hone our 2026 strategy for ALI's approach to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF 2026), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and COP31 to share widely. Stay tuned for more information on what's next for UN engagement in our 2026 Annual Report, launching in early December!

Conclusion

Our 2025 engagements converted aquatic animal welfare from an emerging concern to a recognized policy vector across UN ocean, climate, and SDG forums. UNOC3 gave us formal presence and coalition reach; HLPF established a precedent that welfare belongs inside SDG-14 deliberations; and COP is allowing us to forefront aquatic animal welfare considerations in conversations and decisions about international climate policy. ALI will continue to press animal welfare into the operational core of global sustainability, shaping how oceans are governed, how food systems are decarbonized, and how progress is counted.