Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Global shipping industry sticks with green investments, despite carbon price delay

• Enes Tunagur & Jeslyn Lerh, Reuters • Shipping & Ports

Shipping accounts for nearly 3% of greenhouse gas emissions.

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Coastal innovation is critical for climate and biodiversity

• Karina Barquet and Maria Sköld, SEI

One of the most promising trends when entering 2026 is the renewed interest in marine and coastal solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

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Blue foods: the answer to food insecurity?

• Chris Gorell Barnes, Economist Impact • Fisheries & Aquaculture

At roughly 6%, fish currently accounts for only a small share of global protein intake, making blue foods a largely untapped realm of protein production and a logical next step.
 

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Investing in the Ocean: Financing the Path to 30×30 

• Karen Sack, Together for the Ocean

Financing a healthy ocean is essential to achieving 30x30. Karen Sack, Executive Director of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), explores how ocean finance can drive resilience, biodiversity, and a regenerative blue economy.

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World’s First Treaty to Protect the High Seas Becomes Law

• Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, New York Times

Over two decades after negotiations began, the High Seas Treaty is designed to protect biodiversity in international waters by enabling conservation zones.

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Ocean renewable energy for equitable energy access in a Blue Economy

• Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, et al,, Nature • Energy Solutions

Offshore and coastal renewable energy could be a key contributor to energy sovereignty, decarbonization efforts, and co-benefits to other sectors of a Blue Economy. 

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Ocean Damage Nearly Doubles the Cost of Climate Change

• Johnny Sturgeon, Inside Climate News

Ignoring the blue economy has left a multi-trillion-dollar blind spot in climate finance, according to a study from Scripps Oceanography.

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How smart aquaculture can combat rising food prices

• Ocean 14 Capital • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Despite a 4% rise in spending to €62.8 billion in 2024, challenges to the European fishery and aquaculture sector were driven by price increases rather than higher consumption, with at-home fresh fish consumption falling by 5% in Europe.

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Seaweed Farms: Dynamic Blue Carbon Systems

• Elaina Hancock, UConn Today • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Despite common assumptions, seaweed farms really shine at removing and storing CO2.

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'Choose now!': Ocean explorer Sylvia Earle's message of hope ahead of 'Blue Davos'

• Robin Pomeroy, World Economic Forum

People alive today have a unique opportunity to safeguard the environment and humanity's future, says Sylvia Earle.

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The Ocean Has Finally Entered the Global Climate Debate

• Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Project Syndicate • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture • Shipping & Ports

At COP30, ocean-based solutions attracted significant attention and investment, but much more must be done to establish the governance structures required for safeguarding this critical planetary system.

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AI-driven oceantech is the most investable path in ocean financing: Mark Dalio

• Janice Lim, The Business Times

The OceanX founder and co-CEO believes such investments might bring about outsize economic and environmental impact.

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A Decisive Year for Ocean Conservation

• Peter Thomson, Project Syndicate

Despite the global retreat from multilateralism, international efforts to protect the ocean gained momentum in 2025, leading to some landmark decisions. 

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Top ocean news stories of 2025 (commentary)

• Alfredo Giron, et al., Mongabay

Marking the midway point in the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2025 was a key year for the ocean.

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Recognizing Coral Reefs as Critical Infrastructure Could Save Them

• Dr. Ian Ralby & Philippe Cousteau, Diplomatic Curier • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Coral reefs provide critical coastal shields for hundreds of billions of dollars in coastal infrastructure. Designating coral reefs as critical infrastructure could save them, and make coastal societies more prosperous and resilient, write Dr. Ian Ralby and Philippe Cousteau.
 

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Expert Q&A: Did the 'Super Year' for the Ocean Deliver?

• Katie Wood & John Lyons, World Resources Institute

Tom Pickerell, the global director of WRI's Ocean Program, answers six pivotal questions that highlight a year filled with global cooperation and crucial progress on a number of important issues.

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The Triple-Return Ocean Economy

• Peter Bryant & Sindre Østgård, Project Syndicate

In the face of escalating climate, geopolitical, and financial instability, investors are underestimating an asset offering outsize environmental, social, and financial returns. But taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the blue economy requires building the foundational architecture for ocean finance.

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How AI Is Rescuing the Ocean from a Plastic & Climate Crisis

• Kitty Wheeler, AI Magazine • Fisheries & Aquaculture • Plastics & Pollution

AWS, Google and environmental organisations are setting examples for enterprises by using AI for sustainability, climate resilience and human collaboration.

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From Risk to Resilience: A blueprint for reef-positive parametric insurance that can travel

• ORRAA

At ORRAA, we work across sectors to develop finance and insurance products that invest in nature and people. By convening mission-aligned partners, we incubate promising ideas and provide the support needed to take them to market.

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Scaling the Ocean Economy

• Prince Albert II of Monaco, Project Syndicate

The ocean is a critical ally in efforts to tackle climate change, ensure food security, and support livelihoods. But delivering the level of sustained, coordinated investment needed to harness its potential requires a strategic approach that leverages public and philanthropic capital to establish a pipeline of investable projects.

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