THE concept of blue finance has grabbed considerable international attention as a policy instrument to refresh economies and target cooperative growth of local communities by preserving the oceanic environment and related resources.

Blue finance focusses on ocean-linked sectors, including but not limited to shipping, seafood, marine renewable energy, including coastal wind energy, ocean thermal energy and tidal energy, port construction, coastal tourism, coastal infrastructure, offshore oil, and gas exploration, etc.

Blue finance is all about monetary tools or reserves that ensure the conservation of the ocean environment. Moreover, it addresses the resources of relevance that boost the ocean economy. The expansion of blue finance is thus critical since it supports and promotes the global transformation into economic growth associated with ocean sustainability. It applies to any debt format, including private placement, securitisation, and investments like blue bonds.

The emerging global intimidations in the form of climate change and man-made pollution have been challenging concerning the growth of blue finance. The quest for sustainability and conservation of the marine ecosystem, and resources allied with economic growth are progressively accepted as global necessities and are the primary notion of the blue economy.

In this regard, the consumption and production of solid waste materials, such as nuclear waste, plastic, etc., have also been addressed regarding local and international legislation.

For Pakistan, there is a growing need to research and highlight the potential for ocean financing and the challenges focusing on the sub-themes, such as marine conservation, fisheries and coastal infrastructure.

The financial community shall be guided properly regarding the contexts to safeguard investment to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-14, namely ‘life below water’, enabling conservation and sustainability using the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Dr Intikhab Ulfat
Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2023