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.

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 the John Nurminen Foundation. It focuses on shifting the ocean narrative from negative connotations to positive ones.

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 sustainable ocean 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 Initiative’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 ‘greener’ innovations towards solving decarbonisation challenges.

Moderating at Virtual Island Summit

I moderated the session “How Can We Develop Blue Economy Opportunities?” 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 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 “What’s Next?”. 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

I‘m attending World Water Week in Stockholm this week. Today I will be speaking as part of the talk show “From words into action: Financing from source to sea”. 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.

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.

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 “Security 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.

Moderating at SDG Media Zone at UN Ocean Conference

I’m at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon this week. Today I moderated a session on “Unlocking Corporate Blue Finance” in the SDG Media Zone.

Webinar: New frontiers in ocean innovation

For World Oceans Day I moderated a World Ocean Summit Insight Hour on ocean innovation. The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-30) has started. However, the UN Sustainable Development Goals on life below water (SDG14) remains the most underfunded goal. The ocean needs innovative, passionate leaders to drive the sustainable blue economy.

Moderating at UN World Oceans Day event

Today is World Oceans Day! Economist Impact’s World Ocean Initiative is a media partner of the United Nations World Oceans Day. Following a presentation on “The value of a living ocean” by Ralph Chami, I moderated the in-person panel discussion on “A Revitalized Ocean Economy” at UN Headquarters in New York.

Accelerating blue innovation and tech

Building a sustainable ocean economy requires all hands on deck. Read more for an overview of recent coverage and events on blue innovation and tech by the World Ocean Initiative.

Moderating at Island Finance Forum

This week I will be joining 6,000+ islanders from around the world at the Island Finance Forum organised by Island Innovation. Following an opening keynote by His Excellency Surangel Whipps Jr, President, Republic of Palau, I will moderate a session on "Building a Blue Future: Harnessing the Hope of the Ocean".

Valuing women in the blue economy

Just 1.2% of seafarers are women. In March we mark International Women’s Day and Gender Equality month as an opportunity to reflect on the deep gender divides and inequalities that exist across ocean industries, while celebrating the (often undervalued) contributions of women towards the burgeoning blue economy.

WOS 2022: Event summary

The 2022 World Ocean Summit focused on achieving 2030 goals. 174 speakers engaged the audience with tangible solutions, real-life examples and action-oriented strategies to achieve these goals. We have heard about action beyond ambition, and strategies to achieve commitments.

WOS 2022: Connecting the silos for a healthy ocean

Economist Impact’s World Ocean Summit started today! On Day 1 I moderated a plenary panel discussion on connecting the silos for a healthy ocean. We explored the big picture for ocean regeneration, and how collaboration between government, industry, investors, scientists and NGOs can bring it about.