In this article for Jornal Económico, Marise Almeida, Board member of the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova Alumni Club & Vice-President of NGO Business as Nature, reflects on the importance of the new blue economy.

 

Around two months ago, Lisbon held the second United Nations Oceans Conference. A week dedicated to putting the oceans at the top of the international agenda hierarchy. The perception is that a greater sense of urgency is needed at all levels to address the global challenges facing the oceans.

 

Marise Almeida tells the reader that our oceans are critical to human existence, providing oxygen, absorbing excess heat, and significant amounts of CO2 thus playing an important role in mitigating their effect on climate change. But the oceans are also a cornerstone of the global economy, more than three billion people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods, and many of them are professionally engaged in ocean-related activities, from traditional sectors to new emerging ones, the so-called blue economy. In the 2022 report, the European Union shows that the blue economy directly employs about 4.5 million people and produces about €667 billion in turnover. Data from the OECD (latest study 2016) estimates the global value of the blue economy to be $1.5 trillion, encompassing 31 million jobs.

 

Two major challenges emerge the improved management of the various aspects of ocean sustainability, from sustainable fishing to ecosystem health and pollution, and the understanding of the challenges that ocean governance will have to accomplish, aspiring to a scale never before achieved with respect to the involvement of all states and stakeholders.

 

There is an immense amount of work to do and no time to lose!

 

This is one of the main messages underlined by John Kerry, the US President’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, at the Oceans Conference, when he stressed the need to realize that action is needed and that, given the scale of the tasks ahead, this cannot be achieved if funding is only provided by public funds. The participation of the private sector is crucial, and it has already responded to the challenge.

 

Portugal’s exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, and our country must lead by example. Investments in diversification and emerging sectors of high technological value that incorporate scientific innovation and create high added value are crucial for the new blue economy, and as the United Nations decided to dedicate this decade to the study of the oceans, Marise calls the attention that it is essential that Portugal contributes significantly to this effort by assuming a position of international leadership in the knowledge of the seas and the development of a sustainable blue economy.

 

Read the full article (original) in Portuguese here.

 

Source: Jornal Económico