The Economist Impact's World Ocean Summit Europe was held in Cascais, Portugal, at the beginning of September where our Investment Manager and Impact Lead Alexander Shadbolt joined the panel “Blue opportunities: Mobilising capital for ocean adaptation, resilience and innovation.”
The session addressed the growing ocean finance gap, noting that between 2015 and 2019, less than $10 billion was invested in ocean restoration, significantly below the estimated $175 billion required annually. The discussion explored investable opportunities in ocean restoration efforts, renewable energy, marine infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
The summit aimed to drive actionable ocean policies, addressing Europe’s most pressing marine challenges. It also provided a vital platform for implementing ocean-action plans and fostering dialogue on priority issues, including coastal resilience, deep-sea mining, national security and defence, marine biodiversity and ocean technology.
This is an important step in strengthening European engagement. By bringing together key policymakers, industry experts, investors, NGOs, scientists and community leaders, the World Ocean Summit Europe reinforced the region’s role in shaping the future of ocean governance and a sustainable blue economy.
