The business case for a sustainable blue economy

GENEVA – The ocean economy supports millions and underpins some of the world’s most critical industries. From maritime shipping, which carries 80 per cent of global trade, to the undersea fiber-optic cables that transmit 95 per cent of international data, the ocean is deeply embedded in our societies and daily lives. According to one projection, ocean-based industries could generate more than $3 trillion annually by 2030.

But the ocean is far more than an economic engine. It’s also the planet’s largest natural climate regulator, absorbing nearly 30 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, capturing 90 per cent of excess heat, and storing 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere. And yet the ocean’s capacity to provide these vital services is now nearing a tipping point.

The case for investing in sustainable solutions has never been stronger, and doing so offers a unique opportunity to unlock financial flows at scale. After all, today’s ocean economy represents a multi-trillion-dollar investment frontier, spanning multiple sectors that depend on a healthy marine environment: renewable energy, coastal infrastructure, ports, maritime transport, sustainable fisheries, and aquaculture. The cost of inaction is simply too high and is increasing.

But these opportunities remain largely untapped. Although the sustainable blue economy is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years to over $3.2 trillion by 2030, a substantial funding gap continues to hinder sustainable ocean-related development and innovation.

As extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and shifting coastlines increasingly disrupt coastal areas and key industries, this shortfall poses a grave threat to both climate resilience and long-term economic growth.

Between 2012 and 2022, just $13 billion was invested in ocean sustainability, mostly from official development assistance and philanthropic sources. This reflects the widespread perception that ocean-based ventures are more risk than reward, with investors frequently pointing to regulatory uncertainty, fragmented markets, and a shortage of bankable projects.

To unlock the full potential of a sustainable ocean economy, policymakers and business leaders must focus on three key priorities. First, they must recognize the ocean as a high-growth investment opportunity.

Blue finance has traditionally focused on conservation and restoration efforts, which are necessary but insufficient to drive the systemic change needed to safeguard ocean health. Achieving such change will require recognizing that large-scale projects can, in addition to providing financial returns, help build climate resilience and promote inclusive economic growth. Scalable, commercially viable projects span sectors such as renewable energy, shipping, coastal infrastructure, large-scale aquaculture, and ports.

Second, attracting private capital requires de-risking ocean investments. Developers and industrial stakeholders must work closely with multilateral development banks, insurers, and philanthropies to reduce perceived risks through concessional financing and first-loss guarantees, thereby reducing capital costs and encouraging private-sector participation.

Third, the pipeline of bankable ocean-based projects must be expanded. While developers often point to a lack of funding, one of the main obstacles to capital deployment is the limited availability of mature, scalable projects. Bridging this gap will require coordinated action across borders and industries.

Governments, investors, and business leaders must work together to establish supportive regulatory frameworks, form public-private partnerships, and facilitate targeted investments that can bring viable, high-impact ventures to market.

The main challenge for emerging and developing economies across the Global South is addressing investors’ concerns about regulatory and policy uncertainty, currency volatility, underdeveloped capital markets, and inadequate financial infrastructure.

Alongside technology transfers and knowledge-sharing, these economies must embrace nature-positive approaches to ocean-based industries and infrastructure development.

The offshore wind sector offers a promising model. For example, innovations such as Shanghai Electric Wind Power’s recyclable wind turbine blades demonstrate how integrating capital, cutting-edge technologies, and shared expertise can drive progress.

These efforts can be complemented by developing policies such as Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan, which aims to transition the country to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050. With strict biodiversity and land-use protection measures in place, it has since 2019 unlocked more than $3 billion to finance investments in renewable infrastructure.

By protecting marine ecosystems and incorporating social and environmental resilience into their investment models, ocean-based industries can also deliver long-term value to local communities.

For example, the Port of Singapore’s investments in zero-emission fuel bunkering and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges’ efforts to bolster ecological infrastructure show that sustainability and economic vitality can go hand in hand. The World Economic Forum’s efforts to accelerate the transition to Nature and People Positive Ports will further reinforce this work.

The next five years will be pivotal. Two upcoming events – the United Nations Ocean Conference and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in June – will provide investors, development banks, and policymakers with a platform to advance innovative investment mechanisms, foster cross-sector partnerships, and align financial strategies with the long-term vision of a thriving, sustainable ocean economy.

Admittedly, this is a moment of unprecedented risk. But it is also a moment of unmatched opportunity. By aligning capital flows with ocean regeneration, we can bring about the systemic change needed to build a resilient blue economy that protects marine ecosystems, empowers communities, and provides broad-based prosperity for future generations.

This commentary is part of The Ocean Imperative debate, brought to you in part by The Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance and AXA.

Alfredo Giron is Head of Ocean at the World Economic Forum.Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2025. www.project-syndicate.org