Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. This
is an extract from Finextra's The Future of ESGTech 2022 report.
Focus target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
Ocean health is under existential threat. According to the
United Nations Environment Programme, the triple threat – pollution, nature loss and climate change – has resulted in two-thirds of our oceans being negatively altered by human activity. It must be reiterated that the ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface
and holds 97% of all water and 80% of all life forms, so its protection is of paramount importance.
Further to this, revenue generating sectors such as tourism, shipping and fishing collectively contributes to what is referred to as a ‘blue’ economy. The global gross value of the blue economy is set to exceed $3 trillion by 2030, with the OECD predicting
that some ocean industries will grow faster than the global economy.
As the UNEP states, with “existing financing still largely directed towards unsustainable sectors and activities, it is critical that all sectors of the blue economy are rapidly transitioned towards sustainable pathways.”
The financial services industry has a substantial role to play. More impetus must be placed on restoring ocean biodiversity and improving ocean prosperity. As more financial institutions now realise that their activity can have an impact on ocean health,
they must also be empowered to instigate change and sustainable pathways.
Marisa Drew, Credit Suisse’s chief sustainability officer and global head of sustainability strategy, advisory and finance explored the formation of sovereign debt conversion which led to the creation of the world’s first debt refinancing deal for ocean
conservation in the
Financial Times. In 2016, the Seychelles government, The Nature Conservancy, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Global Environment Facility Programme Coordination Unit struck a deal. This arrangement provided fiscal safety and secured a $21.6
million loan that was used to finance coral reef and fisheries management, as well as protect rare species and ecosystems.
“We are starting to see a surge of innovation in this space, but financial markets need a common language and an agreed set of standards in order to scale and this does not yet exist for the blue economy,” Drew said. In 2020, Credit Suisse launched an Ocean
Engagement Fund, in partnership with Rockefeller Asset Management and The Ocean Foundation, to conserve ocean environments. Within a month it had succeeded in raising $212 million.
Drew added: “I was personally shocked to find that oceans are the second least invested of the UN Sustainable Development goals from a private capital point of view. When we did our research, we found that most people thought of the oceans as very much the
purview of governments or as a space for philanthropists. The sector needed to effectively make the investment case by re-framing the narrative to demonstrate that investment in the oceans can generate a very strong return.”
ACTION FOR 2022: Establish a common language and agreed set of standards for the blue economy.