Author: Angelique Pouponneau, Jessica Bridgland and Arlette Schramm
The sustainable blue economy refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, environmental sustainability and equity outcomes and is critical to addressing the triple planetary crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The transition to a regenerative and sustainable blue economy presents both challenges and opportunities. Aligning financial flows, governance, and innovation with sustainable ocean practices could unlock significant economic benefits while contributing to ocean conservation. A regenerative, sustainable approach to ocean management will ensure the health of our ocean while delivering social and economic benefits, particularly for the three billion people whose livelihoods depend on them.
This article examines the current state of sustainable blue economy investment, its potential benefits, and the roles various stakeholders can play in its development.
Economic Implications of Sustainable Blue Economy Investment
The world's ocean, which covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface, represents a considerable economic resource. Key ocean assets have previously been valued at an estimated US$24 trillion, though this figure is increasingly at risk due to environmental degradation and underinvestment. Current ocean management practices, such as insufficient control over marine pollution, unsustainable coastal development and the overexploitation of ocean resources, pose significant economic risks to society and investors. Research indicates that maintaining current practices could put US$8.4 trillion of investor value at risk in the next 15 years. Conversely, transitioning to sustainable practices, which incorporate the environmental and social impact of economic decisions, could potentially reduce this risk by over US$5 trillion. Examples of such sustainable practices include sustainable fisheries management, the reduction of pollution in ocean industries and conservation efforts.
Additionally, investing in the sustainable blue economy offers several potential benefits. By 2050, oceans could provide six times more sustainable goods than current levels, renewable energy generation from oceans could increase by 40 times, and sustainable investments could yield up to $15.5 trillion in benefits. By 2030, the sustainable blue economy could create an estimated 12 million new jobs.
Investment in sustainable ocean projects has been limited, with less than 1% of the ocean’s total value invested over the past decade
Notably, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, which focuses on life below water, remains the least funded among all SDGs. To realise the aforementioned benefits the alignment of financial flows, governance, and innovation toward a sustainable blue economy is needed.
The Role of Governments
A coordinated effort between the public and the private sector is essential for driving sustainable economic growth and ensuring long-term development in the blue economy. Governments play a crucial role in fostering relationships between industry and the public sector by providing an enabling environment for the national private sector and flow of funds from various external sources. For example, some of the needed sustainable blue investments are likely to create competitive market returns and can therefore attract private finance, however other investments may be capable of generating positive but below market returns. For these to be attractive to the private sector, the public sector can co-finance the investment, enabling the private sector to invest also. The government can provide other important enabling conditions such as effective and stable regulatory and policy environments to encourage sustainable blue investments in their national jurisdiction as well.
Several Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have implemented blended finance models for sustainable ocean management. Examples include debt for nature swaps in Seychelles and Barbados and Belize's blue bond. These models, supported by ocean accounts, can provide a framework for tracking the financial and ecological impacts of such initiatives, enabling better governance and transparency in sustainable ocean management.
The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) proposed the development of Sustainable Ocean Plans (SOPs) to support the comprehensive and holistic management of all ocean areas under national jurisdiction. SOPs are holistic frameworks designed to guide the sustainable management of all national ocean areas. They integrate economic, environmental, and social considerations to ensure balanced and sustainable use of ocean resources while protecting marine ecosystems. The development and implementation of SOPs serve as guidelines for both public and private decision-makers to advance long-term economic and social development by protecting the natural marine ecosystems that underpin that development. They can also be catalytic as investment plans to mobilise finance and increase public and private sector financing and development assistance to investments in the sustainable blue economy.
Investor-Government Collaboration
As the UN Ocean Conference taking place in Nice, France from the 9th June until 13th June 2025 approaches, which is a high-level global meeting to promote and accelerate international efforts for the sustainable management of the world's oceans, the imperative for collaboration between investors and governments becomes increasingly clear. Despite the global private equity market holding US$1.96 trillion in 'dry powder' (S&P Global, 2022), much of this capital remains unallocated or channelled into traditional sectors, while sustainable ocean-related investments receive limited attention. At the same time, rising interest rates driven by central banks' inflation-fighting policies have increased the cost of equity, making investors more risk-averse. This dynamic exacerbates the challenge of attracting capital to nature-based projects, which are often seen as higher risk due to long-term time horizons and uncertain returns in the current financial environment.
To redirect investment towards sustainable ocean practices, several strategies could be considered:
- Integrating ocean sustainability into investment strategies: Develop in-house expertise in blue economy sectors, refine ESG criteria, and leverage ocean accounts to set robust ocean-related standards. This also includes identifying emerging market opportunities and enhancing industry codes like Bloomberg Classification System (BCLASS) to account for ocean sustainability.
- Allocating capital and setting targets for ocean-positive investments: Establish clear targets for blue economy investments and create ocean-focused financial products. Ocean accounts can aid by providing reliable data on ecosystem services, informing risk assessments and supporting capital allocation.
- Enhancing engagement with companies on ocean impact: Using shareholder influence encourages corporations to improve their ocean-related practices and reporting. Incorporate ocean accounts to track and report on impacts, promoting transparency in sustainable ocean use.
- Supporting innovation in ocean finance: Back new financial instruments, such as blue bonds and impact investments, by integrating account data on ecosystem services like carbon sequestration and fisheries productivity. This data can support de-risking investments and support blended finance initiatives.
- Fostering collaboration and market development for ocean finance: Contribute to developing standards, best practices, and strategy hubs (like blue bond incubators) to enhance ocean finance. Ocean accounts provide a foundational data layer, streamlining the coordination between governments, investors, and NGOs and helping scale ocean-focused financial mechanisms.
Future Directions
The transition to a regenerative and sustainable blue economy presents both challenges and opportunities. Aligning financial flows, governance, and innovation with sustainable ocean practices could unlock significant economic benefits while contributing to ocean conservation.
Key areas for focus include:
- Scaling investments in sustainable ocean projects
- Creating inclusive financial access
- Adopting innovative governance mechanisms
- Using ocean accounts to inform investment decisions and improve data-driven decision-making in ocean finance
The private sector, in partnership with governments and civil society, has a significant role in realising the potential of the sustainable blue economy. By adopting sustainable practices and innovative financing models, stakeholders can contribute to both economic growth, environmental stewardship and addressing inequities in ocean-related sectors.
Looking ahead, the upcoming Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) will convene as a special event of UNOC, and aims to identify and mobilise solutions to support initiatives to promote the blue economy and conserve marine ecosystems.
As part of this, it is recommended that a series of multistakeholder deep-dives be established to discuss how to scale the financial flows to the ocean from millions to trillions. These working sessions should bring together institutional investors, financial regulators, Ministers of Finance from coastal and island nations, development finance institutions, and marine science experts to develop concrete, implementable solutions. The deep-dives should focus on key areas including innovative financial instruments, risk mitigation strategies, standardized metrics, and project pipeline development. Special attention should be paid to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), who face unique challenges in accessing finance despite being at the frontline of ocean conservation efforts.
Through these focused sessions and continued collaboration, stakeholders can work to unlock the significant economic potential of sustainable ocean investments while ensuring equitable access to blue finance opportunities.
