{"id":114025,"date":"2025-06-10T11:46:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T08:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.csregypt.com\/?p=114025"},"modified":"2025-06-11T19:02:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:02:05","slug":"one-ocean-finance-to-unlock-billions-in-new-financing-from-blue-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csregypt.com\/en\/one-ocean-finance-to-unlock-billions-in-new-financing-from-blue-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"“One Ocean Finance” to unlock billions in new financing from blue economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“One Ocean Finance” \u2014 launched by the United Nations agencies and global partners – marks\u00a0a bold new effort to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy<\/a> sectors.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By channeling these underutilized capital flows through an agile, scalable, and fit-for-purpose global platform, One Ocean Finance seeks to deliver triple-win outcomes: accelerating industry transition, restoring ocean health, and supporting resilient coastal communities. At its core, the Call for Engagement invites all sectors\u2014governments, industry, finance, and civil society\u2014to come together in shaping a more coherent and inclusive ocean finance architecture, one that reflects the true value of the ocean as a global asset.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Despite the ocean\u2019s central role in global trade, food security, climate regulation, and livelihoods,\u00a0Sustainable Development Goal 14 remains the least funded, with less than $10 billion invested between 2015 and 2019\u2014far short of the estimated $175 billion needed annually. To address this widening finance gap,\u00a0One Ocean Finance seeks to mobilize new and diverse sources of capital, especially from ocean-linked sectors, and deploy them through blended financial instruments that can de-risk innovation and unlock private investment.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Announced at the\u00a0Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco\u00a0and carried forward to the\u00a0Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, the\u00a0Call for Engagement\u00a0invites\u00a0Member States, private sector leaders, financial institutions, and civil society\u00a0to participate in an open and inclusive dialogue to shape this global finance mechanism, with a view toward launch at the\u00a0Fourth UN Ocean Conference in 2028.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cThis collaborative process will bring together governments, financial institutions, ocean industries, the United Nations, and civil society to collectively shape a new financial future for the ocean,\u201d said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. \u201cThrough the development of One Ocean Finance, our goal is to address decades of chronic underinvestment, consolidate fragmented efforts, and design a system that is equitable, agile, and responsive to the needs of coastal communities and marine ecosystems.\u201d<\/strong><\/div>\n
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One Ocean Finance is being advanced by a multi-agency collective including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO-IOC), the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Resources Institute (WRI), among others.\u00a0It aims to complement existing funds, reduce fragmentation, and align financial flows with ocean health, economic opportunity, and coastal resilience\u2014especially for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cThe ocean regulates our climate, feeds billions, and powers global trade, yet it is undervalued, underfunded, and overexploited. We need to redesign ocean finance\u2014grounded in equity, guided by science, and powered by the potential of ocean-dependent industries. One Ocean Finance represents a movement toward systems-level transformation, enabling fairer, faster, and larger-scale financing\u2014mobilizing public and private capital to restore marine ecosystems and deliver justice to the communities who depend on them,\u201d stated UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The Call for Engagement reflects a shared commitment to co-designing a\u00a0fit-for-purpose facility\u00a0that delivers\u00a0triple-win outcomes\u00a0for people, planet, and prosperity. Once operational,\u00a0One Ocean Finance<\/em>\u00a0will draw the majority of its capital from ocean-dependent industries\u2014such as shipping, tourism, ports, marine cables, and insurance\u2014through such mechanisms as user fees, solidarity levies, ecosystem service payments, and dynamic pricing models. The Facility is being structured to deploy the full suite of financial instruments and innovative de-risking tools needed to unlock investment at scale and deliver equitable, high-impact solutions.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cToday\u2019s ocean finance remains too fragmented, too inequitable, and too slow to meet the urgency of the moment,\u201d said Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UNCDF, the\u00a0UN’s capital providing fund, which serves first and foremost least development countries and other vulnerable nations, as set out by the UN General Assembly resolution of 1974. \u201cThrough this co-design process, we are shaping a purpose-built platform that delivers catalytic grants, patient capital for local innovators, and blended finance to crowd in private investment. One Ocean Finance will accelerate the sustainable transition of industries, drive climate-smart innovation, and empower the communities working to protect and restore ocean ecosystems.\u201d<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cScience must guide ocean action. Data must guide ocean investments.\u201d said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. \u201cA One Ocean Finance Facility would offer an opportunity to embed the health and natural capital of the ocean into financial systems, ensuring decisions are based on robust data in support of a regenerative and resilient ocean.\u201d<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cOcean-dependent industries must be part of the solution,\u201d said Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact. \u201cOne Ocean Finance presents an opportunity to build stronger public-private partnerships that accelerate sustainable transitions, decouple growth from degradation, align business practices with ocean stewardship, and unlock triple-win investments\u2014for resilient industries, thriving coastal communities, and a healthy ocean.\u201d<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u201cCoastal and marine tourism must evolve to support sustainability, not undermine it,\u201d said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. \u201cThrough the One Ocean Finance Facility, we can accelerate investments that decouple tourism growth from environmental degradation and uplift local communities.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOne Ocean Finance is a step toward systemic change,\u201d said Minna Epps, Global Ocean Policy Director, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). \u201cThe co-design process offers a rare opportunity to rethink how global finance can drive nature-positive outcomes, strengthen coastal resilience, and deliver equity for the communities most affected by ocean degradation. If we act boldly now, we can chart a course toward a more just and regenerative ocean economy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A sustainable ocean economy has the potential to create 51 million new jobs by 2050, but it can only thrive with smarter, more equitable financing,\u201d said Cynthia Barzuna, Deputy Director of the Ocean Program, World Resources Institute. \u201cOne Ocean Finance is an invaluable chance to align capital flows with nature-positive outcomes\u2014ensuring investments reduce risks, support emissions reductions, boost resilience and create jobs — benefitting the most vulnerable coastal communities.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n