OECD work in support of a sustainable ocean
Valuing ocean natural capital is important but only part of the picture.
Financing and investment for a sustainable ocean economy
Defining and measuring “sustainable” ocean finance remains a challenge The diversity of ocean economic sectors means that there are no simple answers to questions such as how much finance is already flowing to sustainable activities, how much is required to protect ocean health, and which instruments are best suited to scale up and reallocate finance. Evidence on global finance for the ocean from
Overcoming the ocean health challenge, while meeting
its various sources – private and public, domestic and
the needs of the billions who depend on the ocean
international – is still scarce and scattered. It is currently
for livelihoods, will require important changes in how
not possible to have a comprehensive view of how much
finance flows to ocean-related economic activities.
finance reaches ocean-based sectors and what percentage
Growth in ocean investment, especially in times of
of that can be considered sustainable. Even defining what
recovery from economic crises, will not be sustainable
is “sustainable” varies across ocean sectors, meaning that
in environmental and social terms by default. The
the policy tools, regulation and financial instruments
characteristics of several ocean sectors – such as
needed to make sustainable activities competitive and
physical remoteness and challenging traceability –
investable are also quite varied. Unlike climate change
may instead mean that investment is more likely
mitigation, there is no single metric or externality – such
to flow to less sustainable activities, i.e those that
as a tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent – that can be
are environmentally destructive and economically
priced or even easily defined.
short-term. The challenge is therefore significant, requiring scaling up investment in sustainable ocean activities and reallocating capital away from harmful or
Diverse ocean sectors require diverse approaches to financing
unsustainable activities. Some ocean industries are economicially dependent on the natural capital of the ocean, such as wild-catch 34 . OECD WORK IN SUPPORT OF A SUSTAINABLE OCEAN
