My article on ocean innovation has been published as part of “Horizon 2030”, a new report from the global ESG innovation platform Springwise, which outlines seven key drivers of sustainable change from now until the end of the decade.

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.

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.

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.

As part of the Blue Recovery Series, the World Ocean Initiative hosted a webinar on the roles of science, innovation and investment in establishing a sustainable ocean economy in the post-coronavirus period.

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.

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.

With the world battling the coronavirus pandemic, everyone’s first thoughts are for their families and loved ones. I hope all readers are staying safe in these challenging times. The crisis is also having an impact on something else that we all care about—the ocean.

Building a sustainable ocean economy requires brave pioneers and ocean protectors. This month the World Ocean Initiative launched a new season of The Protectors film series and called for nominations for the World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit.

Climate change, plastic pollution and ecosystem destruction—the ocean faces many risks. Homes, businesses and investments are threatened by extreme weather, exposure to toxic chemicals and loss of resources. Innovation in ocean-based sectors can provide solutions to these problems, turning risks into opportunities.