Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Progress on circular economy required to address plastic pollution

• Martin Koehring, The Economist Group- World Ocean Initiative • Plastics & Pollution

Recent World Ocean Initiative coverage highlights the need for systemic change, concerted corporate action and international collaboration, says Martin Koehring, head of the World Ocean Initiative.

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'Reef cubes': could these plastic-free blocks help save the ocean?

• Douglas Broom • Plastics & Pollution

Artificial reefs are vital in protecting offshore wind farms from strong tides, but existing defences often contain plastic, which could be harmful to marine life.

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A new wave of sustainable seafood to feed generations to come

• Cristine Morgan, Greenbiz • Fisheries & Aquaculture

While increased seafood consumption may be good short-term news for the U.S. seafood industry, it also is combating other major challenges, such as severely decreased foodservice and export business due to the pandemic. 

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Fisheries management works, so it’s time to apply it more broadly

• FAO • Fisheries & Aquaculture

FAO’s State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020 tracks growing fish production and consumption, and highlights the promise of sustainability actions

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A milestone moment for ocean current energy

• WORLD OCEAN INITIATIVE • Energy Solutions

Florida startup OceanBased taps the Gulf Stream for a full day—and it now wants to go big.

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The Plastic Pandemic

• Jacob Duer, The ASEAN Post • Plastics & Pollution

If we are not careful, short-term thinking during the pandemic could lead to an even larger environmental and public-health calamity in the future.

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Clean Energy Can’t Come at the Expense of the Ocean—and it Doesn’t Have To

• Levin, L., et al., World Resources Institute • Energy Solutions

As clean energy expands, demand for metals and rare earth elements is growing along with it. Developing the wind turbines, solar panels and batteries that will power our low-carbon future requires cobalt, nickel, zinc, copper, silver, gold, lithium and more.

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Clean Energy Can’t Come at the Expense of the Ocean—and it Doesn’t Have To

• Lisa Levin, Peter Haugan, Ines Aguiar Branco and Katie Flanagan • Energy Solutions

A new Blue Paper commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy finds that deep-seabed mining is a potentially risky proposition that may, in fact, be unnecessary given the rapid development of alternative technologies that reduce demand.

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Conserving the foundation of life in the ocean

• World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Ocean genomes are fundamental to the abundance and resilience of the ocean, not to mention potential medical and sustainability breakthroughs, an influential report concludes.

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Genetics Could Protect Coral Reefs from Global Warming

• Carla Cantor • Fisheries & Aquaculture

A Columbia study provides a blueprint for the use of genomics to help combat climate change.

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Building a business in coral-reef restoration

• World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture • Tourism

In the second of our Q&As with the three winners of the Women and the ocean: Changemakers challenge, we speak to Olga Lucía Caro Jácome, chief executive and co-founder of ProcoReef, about coral-reef restoration.

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Bumble Bee creates $40 million investment fund for sustainability, plant-based seafood initiatives

• IntraFish Media • Fisheries & Aquaculture

The fund will be used to further plant-based foods in the seafood space.

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Bold solutions needed to end marine plastic pollution

• World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group • Plastics & Pollution

Reducing the range of plastic types, improving waste management in developing-country cities and incentivising the market to recycle were some of the solutions to waste plastic considered in the World Ocean Initiative’s latest webinar.

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Sustainable Seafood 101

• Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Investable Oceans • Fisheries & Aquaculture

There are three criteria for sustainable seafood: environmental protection, economic viability and social responsibility.

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Why Climate Investors May Be Missing Out On A Huge Investment Opportunity To Reduce Carbon

• Rob Kaplan • Energy Solutions • Plastics & Pollution

Climate finance and circular plastic investing are going to need to come together to address the climate crisis in a comprehensive way. Only by looking beyond renewables and closing the gaps and improving the production of materials like plastics, aluminum and so on can we develop the kind of circular economy we need to solve both the climate and plastic pollution problems.

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Capturing the green energy of the deep blue sea

• Craig Pittman • Energy Solutions

Off the coast of Florida, testing whether the Gulf Stream can produce carbon-free electricity

 

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Global Deals to Save Oceans Were In Reach. Then Covid-19 Hit

• Virginia Gewin

They are critical to stop overfishing and slow global warming. Now environmentalists fear the chance may be lost.

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Coral reefs are facing their own pandemic -- but we have a survival guide

• Jack Kittinger

What has emerged from our research is a survival guide, one that can explain what works -- where and why. If we want to overcome the pandemic destroying our reefs, we must put this plan into action.

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Vattenfall gives green light to world’s largest offshore wind project

• Vattenfall Press Office • Energy Solutions

Vattenfall has taken final investment decision for Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4 proceeding with the construction of what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

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IBM Blockchain Is Growing In The Food Industry During Covid-19

• Robert Anzalone • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Kvarøy Arctic, a large producer of Norwegian-farmed salmon for stores like Whole Foods, announced today that it would join IBM’s blockchain-based Food Trust.

Read more → (1 minute read)