Billions of public and private finance promised for marine restoration

As the One Ocean Summit came to a close late last week, European public banks pledged €4bn of ocean finance by 2025 and a major new private-sector coalition was formed with the aim of leveraging increased investment in marine conservation and restoration projects.

The public finance commitment was led by the European Investment Bank (EIB), France’s development agency and Germany’s KfW development bank, under the existing Clean Oceans Initiative. The Initiative was already working to raise €2bn of finance by 2023 and used the Summit to announce an ambition to double that amount by 2025.

To date, the Initiative has provided €1.6bn. It funds projects working to tackle the most pressing sustainability issues facing the oceans, including the mismanagement of plastics and wastewater, and estimates that more than 20 million people have benefitted from the projects supported to date. Funding is provided globally – not just to projects in Europe – with a focus on regions grappling with issues like a lack of waste management infrastructure.

The increase in funding commitments from the Initiative is partly attributable to its growing membership. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) joined the Initiative at the Summit, which took place in Brest, France.

“I am proud of the success of the Clean Oceans Initiative and warmly welcome the…