Financing sustainable ocean-based economies in emerging markets, especially LDCs and SIDS—solutions across the investment continuum.

Oceans constitute a critical source for humankind, providing livelihoods to over 3 billion people worldwide. Yet, human activity and other stressors, including climate change, overextraction and overfishing, are putting the health and integrity of the ocean at risk, possibly leading to irreversible environmental and economic losses to those communities living in coastal areas and in Small-Island Developing States (SIDS).

Current investments are insufficient to crowd in the necessary support to drive sustainable ocean-based economies. Only an estimated USD8 billion from philanthropy and USD5 billion from Official Development Assistance (ODA) was invested in the past ten years[1] against USD174.52 billion per year projected to be needed for the health of our oceans and reach the SDG14 by 2030.[2] Both private and public investments have a role to play in protecting the health of ocean ecosystems and supporting sustainable ocean-based economies. Investors can generate both financial and development returns by fully seizing ocean-based innovative sectors: sustainable fisheries, renewables, marine biotechnology, desalination, or eco-tourism.

Financing solutions across the investment continuum ranging from traditional grants or loans, carbon markets and insurance instruments can play a vital role in support of sustainable ocean-based economies. Innovative finance is urgently needed to help LDCs and SIDS to fully tap into the benefits of sustainable ocean-based economies and build their resilience.

The 2022 UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal, comes at a critical time as the world is seeking to address many of the deep-rooted problems of our societies, laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. This will require major structural transformations and common shared solutions anchored in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This event will discuss the different types of finance needed to grow sustainable ocean-based economies in LDCs and SIDS and how various public and private capital providers in the development finance architecture can work together across the blue finance “investment continuum”.

The discussants will explore challenges and gaps for investing in blue economy activities in emerging markets, especially LDCs and SIDS, and make recommendations for how greater flows of investment finance can be unlocked.