Martin Koehring | Development Finance & Sustainable Finance

Ocean observing should be treated as public-good and enabling infrastructure. Drawing on a UN Ocean Decade panel in Stockholm, I explore how public, philanthropic and private finance can play complementary roles across the data value chain, from observation and processing to distribution, uptake and real-world decision-making and measurable outcomes.

Companies can be financially exposed to the ocean without seeing themselves as part of the blue economy. This article explores how businesses can map those dependencies, assess financial materiality, choose appropriate strategic and financing responses, and move promising initiatives from pilots to scalable business models.

Private finance can support development, but mobilisation is not the ultimate objective. What matters is what changes, for whom, whether public support was necessary, and whether finance builds stronger local markets and institutions. This ODI Global insight sets out the agenda guiding our Centre’s work.

Ocean sustainability is moving into mainstream investment decision-making. Reflecting on the launch of The Ocean Framework, this piece explores why ocean-related risks and opportunities matter for investors, and how private finance can support resilience, food security, sustainable infrastructure and ecosystem restoration in coastal and ocean-dependent economies.

Reflections from a Lille conference on how sustainability regulation, transition frameworks and AI are reshaping investment decisions. The blog argues that disclosure is necessary but not sufficient: the real test is whether frameworks change risk pricing, capital allocation and access to finance, especially in emerging markets and developing economies.

Public development banks are central to the next phase of development finance. But their potential will not be realised through scale alone. The challenge is to translate public mandates into credible, investable and impact-oriented structures that can mobilise capital effectively while preserving development purpose and accountability.

Speaking at the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain's Carbon Forum in Barcelona, I will explore how carbon markets can move beyond offsetting to mobilise capital into real-economy investments. The focus is on linking growing demand for carbon credits with scalable opportunities in the blue economy and sustainable infrastructure.

Mobilising private capital is no longer enough. In this Think Change podcast, I examine what it takes for private finance to deliver real development outcomes—highlighting the role of incentives, risk allocation and institutional evolution in shaping investment flows to emerging markets.

I recently began a new chapter as Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Private Finance in Development at ODI Global. At a time when development challenges are intensifying and public resources are increasingly constrained, mobilising private capital has become a central priority for the global development system.

I’m looking forward to moderating a keynote and panel discussion on "Protecting the Environment in Coastal Waters" at Oceanology International London on 10 March.

I’m looking forward to moderating several sessions at Economist Impact’s 13th annual World Ocean Summit & Expo in Montréal (March 4–5). I’ll be leading discussions across the Nature-Based Solutions track and beyond.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to speak at the Directors’ Meeting of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), a global network of leading oceanographic institutes. The question on the table was simple but urgent: How do we finance sustained ocean observation in a world of constrained public budgets?

At Mumbai Climate Week 2026, I had the opportunity to deliver a short special address on blue financing for urban coastal resilience. The discussion brought together leaders from finance, development institutions, and coastal economies across Asia and beyond. One theme was unmistakable: We are not short of awareness, we are short of structure.

On 19 February, I’ll be giving a short special address at Mumbai Climate Week 2026 on blue financing for urban coastal resilience. Coastal cities like Mumbai sit on the frontlines of climate risk: rising sea levels, flooding and extreme weather are already driving recurrent economic losses. Yet financing for coastal and urban resilience remains fragmented.

In February 2026, I delivered a lecture at the VII Winter Crash Course at CECRI – the Centre for International Relations Studies at the University of Minho​ examining the blue economy as a coupled ecological–economic–political system. The discussion explored how maritime governance, strategic autonomy, and financial architecture interact in shaping development pathways across the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to contribute to a course on Intellectual Property and the Blue Economy, where the focus was on a deceptively simple question: how do we finance innovation in ocean and coastal sectors, particularly in small island developing states (SIDS, also known as great ocean states)?

On 17 January 2026, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement entered into force. The world has finally acknowledged that nearly two-thirds of our planet's ocean cannot be governed by conservation intent alone. But from a blue finance perspective, entry into force is only the starting gun, not the finish line.

Last month, I had the privilege of moderating two key events at UNIDO's General Conference in Riyadh - both dedicated to advancing one of the most forward-looking agendas in global sustainable development: UNIDO's emerging Blue Industry vision.

I'm excited to present at the first Interactive Dialogue on "Unlocking Blue Finance in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines" organized by Ocean Centres - a global initiative hosted by the United Nations Global Compact and supported by the Lloyd's Register Foundation, active in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

I had the honor of delivering a keynote address on "Navigating a Wave of New Blue Finance Opportunities" at the World Ocean Forum in Busan, South Korea. The Forum offered rich discussions spanning cooperation, innovation, finance, and sustainability in the global blue economy.