From grey to blue: an ocean economy fit for the future

Abstract

The ‘blue economy’ or the ‘ocean economy’ are terms often used interchangeably to describe economic aspects of activities that take place in ocean waters, along coastlines or on land supporting those ocean-based activities. Great subjectivity exists around definitions, but here we define the ocean economy as encompassing all economic activities connected to the ocean whereas the blue economy is a social construct, a nascent subset of the ocean economy, embracing the aspiration for sustainable use of the ocean. To avoid major climate change and irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, environments and wider society, it is imperative that by the mid-21st Century, the global ocean economy will have transitioned from grey to blue. This report presents a current snapshot of the ocean economy alongside potential scenarios of the future ocean economy, and pathways for its transition from grey to blue, with a view to the mid-century, considering the incoming possibilities and threats of the future facing the ocean, regarding economy, society and the environment.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Susan Gourvenec: orcid.org/0000-0002-2628-7914

ORCID for Fraser Sturt: orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-990X

ORCID for Damon Teagle: orcid.org/0000-0002-4416-8409

Catalogue record

Export record

Altmetrics