AICEP
Agência para o Investimento e Comércio Externo de Portugal

The Governments of Portugal and Kenya are proud to organize the Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum (SBEIF), a special event of the 2nd United Nations Ocean Conference that will take place at Estoril Congress Centre in Cascais on June 28, 2022, 3.00pm.

Credit: UN Photo/Florencia Soto

Our aim is to connect all stakeholders through a transformative blue economy, as this is critical for a sustainable future.

The ocean is the main life source of our planet, and it is vital for human well-being and a thriving global economy. The sustainable blue economy must therefore shift from the model of simple resource extraction and depletion that has defined the last century and transition to a circular and inclusive economic model.

The future we want, and need, for our oceans must be different from the one we have been contributing to.

There are many challenges ahead, but we still have a window of opportunity for action.

According to the HighLevel Panel for a Sustainable Blue Economy, “building a sustainable ocean economy is one of the most important tasks and greatest opportunities of our time. It is critical to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and it is vital if we are to emerge from current and future crises with stronger economies, healthier people and more resilient communities.”

The intrinsic link between the ocean and the globalized world economy must be perceived by the business community and all stakeholders as one.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 of the agenda 2030 aims at conserving and using the ocean, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It sets targets for reducing marine pollution, reducing ocean acidification, regulating fishing, including harvesting, overfishing and IUU fishing, to restore fish stocks, creating marine protected areas, or increasing the economic benefits of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs).

To accomplish this greater good, the gap between available resources and projects, that can leverage this goal, must be narrowed. As the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) stated, it is time to go from words to action. We believe that the SBEIF will bring a firm contribution in achieving this approach.

The kick-off of this global movement took place in the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, organized by Kenya, in Nairobi, from 26th to 28th November 2018, where thousands of people began to advocate for and accelerate action towards sustainable blue economy solutions, including finance.

In his Background Note to the Conference, the UNSG recognized the need not only for “scaling up ocean action, including through science and innovation, increasing and improving cooperation and coordination at all levels”, but also underlined the importance of financing Goal 14. The Forum aims precisely at scaling up, in an efficient way, the financing of ambitious, innovative Ocean action.

One of the main objectives of the Forum is to launch a process for designing the blue economy’s sustainable framework global standard, to be used in financial instruments, investment decisions and business.


Credit: Bob Brewer - Unsplash