I have been attending World Water Week in Stockholm this week. Today is the final day, and I will be speaking during the closing panel on “What’s Next?”. I will talk about the latest trends when it comes to innovation and societal transformations, drawing on research from Economist Impact and the World Ocean Initiative.

I‘m attending World Water Week in Stockholm this week. Today I will be speaking as part of the talk show “From words into action: Financing from source to sea”. I will be joined by Ruth Mathews, senior manager at SIWI (Stockholm International Water Institute) and moderator Eric Paglia of KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Only around 1.2% of the high seas are currently protected. Unfortunately, diplomats meeting at the UN in New York have failed (at their fifth attempt) to agree on a high seas treaty. In this interview for TRT World I explain why having a global ocean treaty is so significant.

International Youth Day is observed each year on August 12th. This month Economist Impact's World Ocean Initiative celebrates past winners of our Ocean Changemakers Challenge. These young talents are all working on solutions for a sustainable blue economy.

Plastic Free July is an opportunity to reflect on the pervasiveness of plastic in our daily lives and highlight opportunities to build a circular economy. Plastic production increased more than 200-fold between 1950 and 2019, growing from 2 million tonnes to 460 million tonnes per year, yet only 14–18% of plastic is recycled globally.

The World Ocean Initiative team was on the ground last month at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon and the UN World Oceans Day events in New York. Read more for an overview of recent coverage from the World Ocean Initiative.

Today I moderated a panel discussion on “Security of subsea data cables and marine protected areas", organised by the Atlantic Centre, SafeSeas, the University of Copenhagen and the Institute for Security Studies (Pretoria). This was an official side event of the UN Ocean Conference.

I was interviewed for BBC World's World Business Report on the latest developments at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon.

I’m at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon this week. Today I moderated a session on “Unlocking Corporate Blue Finance” in the SDG Media Zone.

For World Oceans Day I moderated a World Ocean Summit Insight Hour on ocean innovation. The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-30) has started. However, the UN Sustainable Development Goals on life below water (SDG14) remains the most underfunded goal. The ocean needs innovative, passionate leaders to drive the sustainable blue economy.

Today is World Oceans Day! Economist Impact’s World Ocean Initiative is a media partner of the United Nations World Oceans Day. Following a presentation on “The value of a living ocean” by Ralph Chami, I moderated the in-person panel discussion on “A Revitalized Ocean Economy” at UN Headquarters in New York.

The International Day for Biodiversity and World Tuna Day—both observed in May—highlight the critical importance of safeguarding marine biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on a healthy, abundant ocean. Read more for an overview of recent coverage on ocean biodiversity from the World Ocean Initiative.

Transitioning to a circular economy for plastics is complex. In this episode of Inside the Circle, a podcast from Economist Impact hosted by me, we explore the innovative upstream and downstream design solutions being pioneered and the policies and incentives needed to scale these up.

Building a sustainable ocean economy requires all hands on deck. Read more for an overview of recent coverage and events on blue innovation and tech by the World Ocean Initiative.

This week I will be joining 6,000+ islanders from around the world at the Island Finance Forum organised by Island Innovation. Following an opening keynote by His Excellency Surangel Whipps Jr, President, Republic of Palau, I will moderate a session on "Building a Blue Future: Harnessing the Hope of the Ocean".

Just 1.2% of seafarers are women. In March we mark International Women’s Day and Gender Equality month as an opportunity to reflect on the deep gender divides and inequalities that exist across ocean industries, while celebrating the (often undervalued) contributions of women towards the burgeoning blue economy.

The 2022 World Ocean Summit focused on achieving 2030 goals. 174 speakers engaged the audience with tangible solutions, real-life examples and action-oriented strategies to achieve these goals. We have heard about action beyond ambition, and strategies to achieve commitments.

It’s Day 3 of Economist Impact’s World Ocean Summit! I interviewed Peggy Kalas, director of the High Seas Alliance, on protecting biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Negotiations for a treaty on BBNJ—or high seas treaty—began in 2018 and there is hope that there will be a breakthrough this year.

It’s Day 3 of Economist Impact’s World Ocean Summit! I moderated a plenary panel discussion on using data to drive investment. I was joined by Dag Sletmo, senior vice-president, DNB; Suzanne Johnson, senior advisor ocean, United Nations Global Compact and head of sustainability, Lloyd’s Register Foundation; and Grant Cavanaugh, chief investment officer, Scoot Science.

It’s Day 2 of Economist Impact’s World Ocean Summit! I moderated a plenary panel discussion on high hopes for seaweed. I was joined by Caroline Slootweg, co-founder of Kelp Blue; Bill Collins, chairman of Cascadia Seaweed; and Dodon Yamin, managing director of MARI Oceans Indonesia.