Podcast: The Ocean ā€“ Big Business Tackling Climate Change

I recently spoke with Dieter Brockmeyer and Christian Salow for their "Two the power of MORE" podcast to explain how to unlock the power of the ocean to address the three major planetary crises: climate change, biodiversity, and pollution.

Inspiring ocean solutions

The World Ocean Summit in Lisbon at the end of February and early March will bring the ocean community together to inspire ocean solutions. This year will be vital in making progress on building a sustainable ocean economy in order to tackle the three interconnected planetary crises: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Podcast: Why should we invest in the blue economy?

The ocean is the worldā€™s largest carbon sink and our biggest hope in the fight against climate change. Tune in to the latest episode of Beyond Business with WƤrtsilƤ as I talk with Atte PalomƤki and Andrea Morgante about how to build a sustainable ocean economy.

The ocean round-up of 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, Economist Impact's World Ocean Initiative celebrates some of the key achievements of the year, including progress on a global plastics treaty and the acceleration of blue carbon markets.

Winners announced for Ocean Changemakers Challenge 2022

Three inspiring innovators, leading the way for a sustainable ocean economy, have won the World Ocean Initiativeā€™s Ocean Changemakers Challenge, supported by Destination Canada. The competition aims to showcase the outstanding changemakersā€”mainly early-career researchers or professionalsā€”working to develop business solutions to ocean-related sustainability challenges.

How to shift the ocean narrative for a sustainable blue economy

I have published a blog that summarises my keynote speech at the recent 30th anniversary celebration of theĀ John Nurminen Foundation. It focuses on shifting the ocean narrative from negative connotations to positive ones.

Blue climate solutions: the role of marine natural capital in mitigating climate change

I recently spoke about the importance of ocean ecosystems at the Valuing Natural Capital Conference 2022 in Geneva, organised by Geneva Macro Labs. My summary blog has just been published on Economist Impact's Sustainability Project.

Speaking at the 30th anniversary of the John Nurminen Foundation in Helsinki

I was invited by the John Nurminen Foundation to provide the keynote speech at its 30th anniversary in Helsinki. The foundation does lots of great work to save the Baltic Sea and its heritage for future generations. I was honoured to speak about the opportunities of building a sustainableĀ oceanĀ economy in the Baltic Sea and beyond.

Moderating at World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit in Halifax, Canada

I was in Halifax, Canada to moderate seven sessions at Economist Impact's World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit, including sessions on blue economy resilience, innovation alliances, changes in the Arctic, blue carbon to mitigate climate change, and big data and predictive analytics. We also announced the winners of the World Ocean Initiativeā€™s Ocean Changemakers Challenge.

Decarbonisation can overhaul the shipping industry

World Maritime Day is celebrated in September to focus attention on the importance of shipping and other maritime activities. It provides an opportunity to reflect on how the shipping industry can play a critical role in leveraging ā€˜greenerā€™ innovations towards solving decarbonisation challenges.

Moderating at Virtual Island Summit

I moderated the session ā€œHow Can We Develop Blue Economy Opportunities?ā€ at the Virtual Island Summit 2022, organised by Island Innovation. Following an opening keynote by Dr Keith Mitchell, former prime minister of Grenada, I was joined by four excellent panellists.

Speaking at Valuing Natural Capital Conference in Geneva

Next week I will speak at the "Valuing Natural Capital Conference" in Geneva, hosted by Geneva Macro Labs in collaboration with ILO, UNITAR, UNCDF, Harvard University, FootPrint Coalition and ServiceNow. My presentation will focus on the role ofĀ marineĀ natural capital in mitigating climate change, drawing on insights from my work leading Economist Impact's World Ocean Initiative.

Speaking during the closing panel at World Water Week in Stockholm

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 ā€œWhatā€™s Next?ā€. 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.

Speaking about financing source to sea at World Water Week in Stockholm

Iā€˜m attending World Water Week in Stockholm this week. Today I will be speaking as part of the talk show ā€œFrom words into action: Financing from source to seaā€. 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.

TRT World interview on UN high seas treaty

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.

Catching up with ocean changemakers for International Youth Day

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: solutions to plastic pollution

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 14ā€“18% of plastic is recycled globally.

UN Ocean Conference: driving true blue transformation to achieve SDG14

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.

Moderating roundtable on subsea data cables at UN Ocean Conference

Today I moderated a panel discussion on ā€œSecurity 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.

BBC Interview on UN Ocean Conference

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