Big blue money

Jun 30, 2022

Presented by GE

VERBATIM

A chart showing benefits of blue economy investments.

OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITY — Leaders around the world looking to give their economies a boost may want to look out to sea.

Segments of the so-called blue economy are heating up as nations seek sustainable growth opportunities. And efforts to build up coastal communities' economies are being highlighted as delegates and civil society groups from countries around the world gather in Lisbon, Portugal, this week for the U.N. Ocean Conference.

European nations, for instance, could reap trillions in benefits by investing in offshore wind, decarbonization of shipping, ocean-based foods, and mangrove conservation and restoration, according to an EU report out this year. Investing $2.8 trillion in those four categories, the report found, could yield a net benefit of $15.5 trillion by 2050.

The blue economy is a murky concept, but the United States and Europe both see green in it. The World Bank defines the blue economy as the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth," while the European Commission defines it as all economic activities related to the oceans and coasts — with no mention of sustainability or stewardship.

The seven established sectors of the EU blue economy — seafood, shipping, ports, offshore renewables, coastal tourism, solid waste management, and coastal infrastructure — generated a 20 percent increase in gross value added and a 22 percent increase in profit from 2009 to 2019.

A numbers treatment on the blue economy.

A message from GE:

Last year GE invested more than $1.5 billion dollars in R&D to develop the innovative energy technologies needed to help meet the world's climate commitments. But companies can't do it alone. Clean energy tax credits provide critical support for emerging technologies like carbon capture and storage. Learn more here.

In the U.S., a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last year showed that the nation's blue economy outperformed the broader economy in 2018. That year, the blue economy supported 2.3 million jobs. Marine-related GDP grew 5.8 percent from 2017 to 2018 — faster than the 5.4 percent growth of overall GDP.

More specific metrics also point to growth. Economic activity from U.S. seaports grew by 17 percent from 2014 to 2018, NOAA found, and demand for maritime commerce is expected to triple by 2030.

A 2019 Energy Department report found that the world's sales of navigational and survey instruments nearly doubled between 2001 and 2011, with the U.S. Defense Department, the oil and gas industry, and researchers largely driving the demand. The value of aquaculture products sold in the U.S. jumped more than 10 percent between 2013 and 2018, according to the Agriculture Department.

A chart showing the growth in aquaculture sales.

And of course, the Biden administration has made building out offshore wind power generation a priority.

INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

"If American coastal counties were an individual country, they would rank third in the world in GDP, surpassed only by the United States and China," NOAA wrote. "The prosperity and security of this nation is therefore predicated on the understanding, health and sustainable use of our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes."

Cleaning up the oceans is paramount to all of this. Nations are taking the Ocean Conference as a chance to discuss issues like coastal resiliency and ocean acidification while negotiations over a global plastics treaty are underway.

A message from GE:

YOU TELL US

Welcome to the Long Game, your source for news on how companies and governments are shaping our future.

Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman. Reach us all at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, lwoellert@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com.

Want more? Don't we all. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free!

A message from GE:

Together with our customers, GE provides one-third of the world's electricity. As the only U.S. company developing breakthrough technologies across wind, gas, grid and nuclear, we support clean energy tax credits to help the U.S. meet climate goals and help ensure a more secure energy future.

Securing and expanding credits like the Section 45Q tax credit for carbon sequestration will enable continued investments in American energy and help:

● Meet our decarbonization targets
● Reinforce U.S. energy independence
● Strengthen national security
● Build a strong domestic supply chain
● Create domestic jobs

GE urges Congress and the Biden administration to work together to enact clean energy tax credits to provide the U.S. energy industry with certainty and support for the future. Learn more.

— Unilever has sold the Israeli arm of Ben & Jerry's a year after the ice cream maker said it would stop selling in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the NYT reports.

— A Quartz investigation found H&M showed misleading and deceptive environmental scorecards for its clothing.

— Environmentalists have a new tool to fight pollution: Drones. Read the AP for more.

— Sweden's net-zero carbon plan and ambitions to lead the quest for a fossil-free economy are in full swing, the Washington Post reports.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.