Wanted: A sea-change in climate finance for oceans

December 15 – The oceans are inextricably connected to the health of the planet, and of humans: they absorb up to 30% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 90% of excess heat, and over 3 billion people — almost half the global population — depend directly on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.

Healthy coastal ecosystems are also critical to the world’s ability to withstand the impact of climate change. Not only do mangrove forests, for example, hold four times the amount of carbon per hectare as tropical forests, according to WWF, their interlocking roots and branches interrupt rising water, protecting people, homes and businesses from powerful storm surges.

Yet they and other critically important marine and coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs, salt marshes, and seagrasses, are under threat from acidification, changing currents and increasingly severe climate instability, as well as damaging manmade threats from pollution, aquaculture and industrial fishing.

Currently, of the 17% of global waters under national jurisdiction that are designated as marine protected areas, only 6.2% are closed or limited to extractive or destructive activities, according to the World Resources Institute.

So, can the private sector help? There is growing corporate and investor interest in putting money towards marine nature-based solutions, with companies such as Stripe and Shopify invested in ocean carbon removals companies including Vesta, Running Tide and…