The ocean covers 70% of the earth and its health is essential to the survival of all living things. It absorbs 90% of the heat from global warming and 30% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. And yet we’ve continued to use it as though it were an infinite and impervious resource. It isn’t.
The Blue Economy is an emerging economy in which companies and governments transition to operating in the ocean sustainably. That means fishing, but not overfishing, and prioritizing the rights of indigenous and local communities. It means ensuring that aquaculture is good for the ocean and the people who consume its products. It means building or retrofitting ships of all kinds to operate without pollution–including noise pollution. It means reducing pollution and ecosystem damage from marine and coastal tourism. And it means promoting sustainable ocean energy that could, theoretically, replace much of the energy we currently get from fossil fuels. The promise of the Blue Economy is huge and requires global, integrated, coordinated action from everyone who benefits from the ocean.
Susan Lahey is a journalist and communications expert who has covered business, investment, ESG, finance, sustainability, emerging technology, physics and more. She has also worked as a communications specialist for projects including an EPA Superfund project to clean up river pollution; a team writing a disaster recovery and resiliency report for Puerto Rico’s Housing and Urban Development Department following Hurricane Maria; and a European ocean energy company. She is from the United States, but lives in Portugal.
