Luxembourg, 17 August 2023
“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.” Jacques Yves Cousteau, French oceanographer and marine conservation pioneer
The blue economy — which includes all economic sectors with a direct or indirect link to the ocean, such as marine energy, ports, shipping, coastal protection and seafood production — could outperform global economic growth by 2030, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The ocean is the largest carbon sink on the planet. It absorbs a quarter of all CO2 emissions from human activity, and captures 90% of the excess heat. But a wide range of human activities, from burning fossil fuels to overfishing, have been harming this vast resource for years. By increasing the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide, global warming is acidifying it and reducing oxygen levels in the water, harming or killing marine plants, animals and other organisms. In addition, melting glaciers and ice sheets are causing sea levels to rise, putting hundreds of millions of people in coastal areas at risk.
An estimated 10.6 million tonnes of plastic waste and 1.5 million tonnes of microplastics are dumped into the ocean every year. This threatens marine ecosystems and the communities that rely on the seas for their livelihoods. Much of the plastic in the oceans comes from waste discharged on land or into rivers by the 2 billion people who live without access to waste collection services. Fast population growth and rapid urbanisation in many cities around the world — particularly in coastal areas — add to the problem.
For more information
Clean oceans and the blue economy OVERVIEW 2023
Source – EIB