Happy World Ocean Day! The health of the ocean continues to deteriorate, but exciting ideas and solutions highlighted at the 8th annual World Ocean Summit Virtual Week could accelerate the shift towards a sustainable ocean economy. We have produced a summary report with outlook for the ocean economy.

June 8th marks World Ocean Day! The UN launched its second-ever fully digital edition of its event celebrating the 2021 theme, The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods. I moderated a panel on “Blue Economy and Private-Sector Impact”.

A new book for which I wrote the foreword, Preparing a Workforce for the New Blue Economy: People, Products and Policies, has been published by Elsevier. The book was edited by Rick Spinrad, the new Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under President Biden, and Liesl Hotaling, president of Eidos Education.

World Biodiversity Day is celebrated every year in late May to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. To honour this occasion the World Ocean Initiative shines a light on one of the planet’s greatest survivors: the horseshoe crab.

Earth Day, celebrated every year on April 22nd, is dedicated to highlighting the importance of action to protect and restore ecosystems around the world. Ocean ecosystems are vital for a thriving planet. Governments and private-sector investors are increasingly keen to invest in seagrass, mangroves and other important ocean ecosystems that reduce and store CO2 emissions.

Our World Ocean Summit Virtual Week concluded successfully last week. We welcomed more than 8,500 registered participants and more than 6,000 active users on our virtual platform during the week. Here I summarise some key conclusions and observations, from the importance of ocean literacy and nature-based solutions to the need for collaboration and investable innovations.

October 22nd marked World Energy Day. The quest for energy has always been a balancing act between the benefits and costs of creation or extraction, storage, transportation and waste disposal. As populations have grown, humans have searched for new energy sources. Wave, tidal and wind energy are now part of the green energy mix.

In a conversation for Therma's Point 01 podcast I spoke with co-founder Aaron Cohen about how reinvigorating the ocean economy will lead to sustained and equitable economic growth. 

On September 8th I will be moderating a session on “A Sustainable Ocean Economy” at the Founders Forum Climate Summit during London Tech Week. I will be joined by a great panel of ocean investment experts.

On 20 August I was interviewed on The Peggy Smedley Show, a leading podcast on digital transformation that averages 115,000 listeners. The discussion revolved around sustainability in the seas, why we need to stop thinking of the economy as linear and why sustainability is a business issue, amongst other items.

On August 13th I moderated a webinar that brought together the winners of the World Ocean Initiative’s Women and the ocean: Changemakers challenge and their three mentors. The panel discussed the changemakers' vision for the blue economy, outlined the potential impact of their projects and detailed what they expect to gain from the mentorship.

Between 24 and 26 July 2020 I presented about ocean sustainability at the 15th Annual Green Economics Institute Conference.

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. To mark this occasion, the World Ocean Initiative is highlighting some of our recent coverage on tackling marine plastic pollution.

In a guest article for Innovation News Network I examine how Innovation is crucial to both harness the opportunities a sustainable ocean economy can offer and address the risks that ocean degradation poses. Innovative solutions include ocean energy, the decarbonisation of shipping, aquaculture, ecosystem restoration and ‘blue carbon’, ocean geoengineering, and blue finance.

Recent World Ocean Initiative coverage highlights the need for systemic change, concerted corporate action and international collaboration.