Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Mapping ‘blue-carbon wealth’ around the world

Dr. Wilfried Rickels & Prof Martin Quaas, Carbon Brief

Carbon “sinks”, such as forests or the ocean, play a crucial role in absorbing atmospheric CO2 and thereby reducing the damages caused by climate change and the emissions that drive it.

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How technology can bridge the gap between climate talk and action

Luiz Avelar, World Economic Forum Energy Solutions

After setting climate targets, countries and companies will need to quantify, reduce and monitor their emissions.

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How effective is aquaculture at enhancing wild fish stocks?

Prof C Greg Lutz, The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

Aquaculture is used to help enhance wild stocks of nearly 200 aquatic species around the world, but these programmes have had mixed results.

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Breathing life into plastic waste

The Economist, World Ocean Initiative Plastics & Pollution

There is significant value to extract from plastic waste. Scaling up advanced chemical recycling technologies could help close the loop and create a circular system for plastic waste that is currently leaking into the ocean.

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The ocean is full of tiny plastic particles – we found a way to track them with satellites

Christopher Ruf, The Conversation Plastics & Pollution

To understand how microplastic pollution is affecting the ocean, scientists need to know how much is there and where it is accumulating.

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Fulfilling seaweed's full taste potential

The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

A new project that is creating a new range of snacks made from and with kelp has reported good progress, although there are still some hurdles to overcome before seaweed is more widely consumed in the West.

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Bringing RAS to the people

Rob Fletcher, The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

According to Jeff Cheng, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) don’t need to be used for high value species or purely by large corporations, but are well within the grasp of relatively small aquaculture players, producing a wide range of species.

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4 reasons why electric cars haven’t taken off yet

Douglas Broom, World Economic Forum Energy Solutions

If electric cars are the future, why does that future seem to be such a long time coming?

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Here's why comparable ESG reporting is crucial for investors

Maha Eltobgy et al., World Economic Forum

By supporting the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, investors can help progress towards better ESG reporting worldwide.

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Global wind and solar power capacity grew at record rate in 2020

Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian Energy Solutions

The world’s wind and solar energy capacity grew at a record rate last year while the oil industry recorded its steepest slump in demand since the second world war, according to BP.

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How to drive investment into the blue economy

World Ocean Initiative

The World Ocean Summit discussed the enabling environment for financial-sector participation in ocean restoration.

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Billions in fishing subsidies finance social, ecological harm, report finds

Elizabeth Claire Alberts, Mongabay Fisheries & Aquaculture

A new report shows that the world’s top fishing nations are using subsidies worth billions of dollars to exploit the high seas and the waters of other nations, including some of the world’s least-developed countries.

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Boost to clean energy investment could drive 10 million new green jobs

Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation News Energy Solutions

If funded, about 13,000 renewable energy projects proposed in nearly 50 countries could slash emissions and create work, researchers find.

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This is how we can inspire people to feel connected to the ocean

Carlie Wiener, et al., World Economic Forum

To connect the ocean to people, we need to connect culture to the ocean.

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The Ocean as a Climate Solution

UNEP FI Energy Solutions

The ocean is not just a victim of climate change, it is also a source of solutions. 

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The scientists fighting to save the ocean’s most important carbon capture system

Lucy Sherriff, The Washington Post Fisheries & Aquaculture

The population of kelp forests, which help clean the air, has fallen dramatically. That has environmentalists worried.

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Is it time to begin rewilding the seas?

Helen Scales, The Guardian Fisheries & Aquaculture

From giant clams to zebra shark, marine biologists want to replace lost and vanishing species at sea but face unique obstacles – not least rampant overfishing

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Travel Norway’s Fjords on a Quiet Electric Ferry

Gabriel Leigh, Bloomberg Green Energy Solutions Shipping & Ports

Hop on a ferry in Norway and it’s increasingly likely that the rumble of a diesel engine will have been replaced by the quiet hum of an electric motor.

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The future of flying is closer than ever. Sustainable fuel is the key

Lauren Uppink, World Economic Forum Energy Solutions Tourism

The World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative created a new certificate system to enable customers to take ownership of their emissions reduction goals.

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Sustainable Ship Loans Set Sail

Shravan Bhat & James Mitchell, RMI Shipping & Ports

Staff at RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance (the Center) analyzed how financial institutions are helping shape the shipping sector’s decarbonization journey through the Poseidon Principles.

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