The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned that accelerating ocean decline poses a material risk to global financial stability and calls for urgent integration of ocean health into financial regulation and supervision.
In its newly published guide, Ocean Health An Introductory Guide for Central Bankers, Financial Regulators and Supervisors, the organization outlines the growing list of tools and strategies financial organizations can use to assess materiality and safeguard $5.1 trillion in ocean-related assets. At the same time, they can unlock sustainable investment opportunities by integrating ocean sustainability into financial regulation, supervision, and monetary policy. The organization said this can reduce systemic risk and direct capital toward ocean-positive activities.
The Guide shows how unsustainable ocean practices pose systemic threats to financial stability, with up to $8.4 trillion of global economic value at risk over the next decade if business as usual continues.
The ocean economy — if it were a country — would be the world’s fifth largest.
The Guide provides an introductory roadmap for central banks, financial regulators and supervisors to:
- Assess and disclose exposure to ocean-related financial risk.
- Integrate ocean risk into monetary policy, supervision, and stress testing.
- Redirect capital flows from harmful activities toward sustainable blue economy sectors.
- Collaborate internationally to standardize ocean-risk assessment and response.
With ocean ecosystems nearing critical climate tipping points, WWF cautions that accelerating decline threatens global food security, economic productivity, and financial stability. New research shows over 84% of the world´s coral reefs have been affected by mass bleaching since early 2023 (NOAA), endangering ecosystems that support between 25% and 40% of all marine species and generate trillions in tourism and fisheries.
WWF urges central banks and financial regulators to ensure monetary and financial policies support, rather than undermine ocean ecosystems–the natural capital underpinning global prosperity.
“Coordinated leadership through the G20, BRICS, and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) – a coalition of more than 100 central banks and supervisors contributing to the development of environment and climate risk management–is critical to align finance with ocean protection and secure long-term market stability,” said Maud Abdelli, WWF Greening Financial Regulation Initiative.
“The G20 is uniquely placed to anchor the ocean in financial policy discussions,” added Louise Heaps, WWF Sustainable Blue Economy Lead. “We urge finance ministers and regulators to act now–and bring ocean health fully into financial frameworks to safeguard our economies, people and nature.”
This guidance aligns with ongoing efforts by the G20’s Ocean20 initiative and the NGFS to integrate nature-related risks into financial decision-making, and are part of the key recommendations of the Ocean20 on Financing the Sustainable Ocean Economy representing the collective input from nearly a hundred experts at as many organisations.
