The United Nations has released the Ocean Investment Protocol – a guide for investors and financial institutions to support a healthy and resilient ocean and ocean economy.
The UN developed the protocol to provide clarity on how financial institutions, insurers, ocean industries, governments, and development and aid agencies can support growing the global ocean economy while aligning with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Along with supporting the targets of the SDGs, the UN hopes the protocol will also support effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and a Global Plastics Treaty and High Seas Treaty. The protocol also looks to support investment in innovation to address ocean challenges such as rising ocean temperatures, overfishing, pollution, biodiversity loss, weak governance, and inequitable access to marine resources.
"The Ocean Investment Protocol underscores the transformative role that businesses, governments, and development finance institutions can play in protecting our oceans for future generations. It provides a blueprint for accelerating responsible investments and ensuring that all sectors of the economy contribute to a healthy and productive ocean,” UN Global Compact CEO and Executive Director Sanda Ojiambo said in a statement.
The UN also cites economic interests, along with ocean health, as a reason to increase financing with urgency. Ocean-related industries support 90 percent of all global trade volume and have a significant impact on global energy and food security, according to the organization.
"The ocean is at a tipping point, and the decisions we make now will determine the future of life below water and far beyond. The Ocean Investment Protocol equips financial actors with practical guidance to unlock the capital needed for a sustainable and inclusive ocean economy projected to reach USD 5.5 trillion [EUR 4.8 trillion] by 2050,” United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative Head Eric Usher said in a statement.
More specifically, the protocol provides general guidance for banks, investors, insurers, governments, and development finance institutions, enabling them to manage environmental risks while pursuing growth opportunities in sectors such as offshore renewables, sustainable seafood and climate-resilient infrastructure.
The document also has a set of recommendations to increase transparency on nature-related risks and impacts and aligning with global reporting frameworks, including Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and science-based targets. The protocol also provides sector-specific roadmaps for industries like fisheries, support for ocean finance-friendly policy and regulation development, and advice on pipeline development for sustainable economic activities in emerging markets and coastal communities.
While the protocol aims to present a clear vision and practical recommendations for financing and scaling activities that protect marine ecosystems and support sustainable livelihoods, it recognizes that financing cannot solve all of the ocean’s challenges just through investment.
“Finance alone is not enough. Policymakers must send clear signals and create enabling environments that make sustainable ocean investment the smart, secure, and strategic choice. This protocol calls on public and private leaders alike to align capital with ocean health because a thriving blue planet is a foundation for prosperity, resilience, and global progress," Usher said.
