France’s Macron urges world leaders to better protect oceans

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is urging other world leaders to better protect the planet’s oceans by adopting an international agreement modeled on the legally binding Paris climate accords. Macron traveled to Portugal on Thursday after attending a NATO summit in neighboring Spain to make a speech at the U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon. Macron acknowledged the failure of world leaders to update an international treaty, known as the Convention on the Law of the Sea, High Seas, to include a mechanism that addresses ocean conservation and the sustainability of marine life. After four rounds of negotiations, a proposed treaty instrument isn’t within sight. A fifth round is scheduled for August in New York.