‘Blue Deal’ To Boost Ocean Economy

News Desk

United Nations: A new United Nations report calls for a global trade, investment, and innovation ‘Blue Deal’ to sustainably use the ocean, which is home to 80 percent of all life.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) report underlines the ocean’s prospects for developing countries to build more innovative and resilient economies and defines a new path for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

However, climate change, pollution, and overfishing threaten the livelihoods of nearly three billion people who rely on it for food and income.

Presented at the 3rd UN Trade Forum in Geneva, the Trade and Environment Review 2023 examines the world’s $3–6 billion ocean economy and assesses how human activities and several global crises have impacted industries such as fishing, seafood, shipping, and coastal tourism.

The health of our ocean, home to 80% of life on Earth, has reached a tipping point.

At stake are the livelihoods of 3 billion people, living mostly in developing countries.@UNCTAD's Trade and Environment Review 2023 calls for a global Blue Deal. ➡️ https://t.co/Q3jw91WJIB pic.twitter.com/TXnwtsFAdP

— UNCTAD, the UN trade & development body (@UNCTAD) May 8, 2023

The report highlights two particularly promising sectors for sustainable development: seaweed farming and plastic substitutes. The global seaweed market has more than tripled in the last two decades, rising from $4.5 billion in 2000 to $16.5 billion by 2020.

According to UNCTAD, seaweed does not require fresh water or fertilizer to grow. It may be farmed for food, cosmetics and biofuels in many developing countries, and it provides an alternative to plastic since every year, around 11 million metric tons of plastic flow into the ocean.

There are numerous more sustainable materials that may be used to create eco-friendly alternatives to the straws, food wrappers and other plastic products we use on a daily basis. Bamboo, coconut husks, banana trees, and agricultural waste are among the abundant materials.

In 2020, the world traded around $388 billion in plastic replacements, less than one-third the amount traded in fossil-fuel-derived plastics.

The report urges governments and corporations to increase financing for research and development of new sustainable ocean economy sectors. Moreover, it calls on companies to invest in developing countries to bolster their technology, skills and productive capacities so both can capitalise on sustainable marine development.

Encourage Export Diversification

Investing in emerging ocean sectors has the potential to assist developing countries in diversifying their ocean exports. In 2020, the global export value of ocean-based items such as seafood and port equipment, as well as services such as shipping and coastal tourism, was anticipated to be $1.3 trillion.

The report stated that governments should incorporate the goal of developing a varied and sustainable ocean economy into crisis recovery strategies as well as climate mitigation and adaptation activities. Fishing activities worldwide receive an estimated $35 billion in government subsidies.

A considerable share, approximately $20 billion per year, could contribute to overfishing by increasing the capacity of the fishing industry, for example, through fuel subsidies or financial incentives to buy larger boats.

Similarly, the report calls for governments to adopt and ratify the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty which will create tools for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources and establish internationally protected areas in our ocean.

It’s estimated that an investment of $2.8 trillion today in four sustainable ocean solutions — conservation and restoration of mangroves, decarbonization of international shipping, sustainable ocean-based food production, and offshore wind production — would yield net benefits of $15.5 trillion by 2050.