One Ocean Finance: UN & Partners Join Forces to unlock billions for marine sectors

A collective of United Nations agencies and global partners today launched the co-design process for One Ocean Finance —a bold new effort to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors. By channeling these underutilized capital flows through an agile, scalable, and fit-for-purpose global platform, One Ocean Finance seeks to deliver triple-win outcomes: accelerating industry transition, restoring ocean health, and supporting resilient coastal communities. At its core, the Call for Engagement invites all sectors—governments, industry, finance, and civil society—to come together in shaping a more coherent and inclusive ocean finance architecture, one that reflects the true value of the ocean as a global asset.

Despite the ocean’s central role in global trade, food security, climate regulation, and livelihoods, Sustainable Development Goal 14 remains the least funded, with less than USD $10 billion invested between 2015 and 2019—far short of the estimated $175 billion needed annually. To address this widening finance gap, One Ocean Finance seeks to mobilize new and diverse sources of capital, especially from ocean-linked sectors, and deploy them through blended financial instruments that can de-risk innovation and unlock private investment.

Announced at the Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco and carried forward to the Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, the Call for Engagement invites Member States, private sector leaders, financial institutions, and civil society to participate in an open and inclusive dialogue to shape this global finance mechanism, with a view toward launch at the Fourth UN Ocean Conference in 2028.

“This collaborative process will bring together governments, financial institutions, ocean industries, the United Nations, and civil society to collectively shape a new financial future for the ocean,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. “Through the development of One Ocean Finance, our goal is to address decades of chronic underinvestment, consolidate fragmented efforts, and design a system that is equitable, agile, and responsive to the needs of coastal communities and marine ecosystems.”

One Ocean Finance is being advanced by a multi-agency collective including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO-IOC), the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Resources Institute (WRI), among others. It aims to complement existing funds, reduce fragmentation, and align financial flows with ocean health, economic opportunity, and coastal resilience—especially for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

“The ocean regulates our climate, feeds billions, and powers global trade, yet it is undervalued, underfunded, and overexploited. We need to redesign ocean finance—grounded in equity, guided by science, and powered by the potential of ocean-dependent industries. One Ocean Finance represents a movement toward systems-level transformation, enabling fairer, faster, and larger-scale financing—mobilizing public and private capital to restore marine ecosystems and deliver justice to the communities who depend on them,” stated UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

The Call for Engagement reflects a shared commitment to co-designing a fit-for-purpose facility that delivers triple-win outcomes for people, planet, and prosperity. Once operational, One Ocean Finance will draw the majority of its capital from ocean-dependent industries—such as shipping, tourism, ports, marine cables, and insurance—through such mechanisms as user fees, solidarity levies, ecosystem service payments, and dynamic pricing models. The Facility is being structured to deploy the full suite of financial instruments and innovative de-risking tools needed to unlock investment at scale and deliver equitable, high-impact solutions.

“Today’s ocean finance remains too fragmented, too inequitable, and too slow to meet the urgency of the moment,” said Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UNCDF, which mobilizes and catalyses an increase in capital flows and serves first and foremost least development countries and other vulnerable nations, as set out by the UN General Assembly resolution of 1974. “Through this co-design process, we are shaping a purpose-built platform that delivers catalytic grants, patient capital for local innovators, and blended finance to crowd in private investment. One Ocean Finance will accelerate the sustainable transition of industries, drive climate-smart innovation, and empower the communities working to protect and restore ocean ecosystems.”

“Science must guide ocean action. Data must guide ocean investments.” said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. “A One Ocean Finance Facility would offer an opportunity to embed the health and natural capital of the ocean into financial systems, ensuring decisions are based on robust data in support of a regenerative and resilient ocean.”

“Ocean-dependent industries must be part of the solution,” said Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact. “One Ocean Finance presents an opportunity to build stronger public-private partnerships that accelerate sustainable transitions, decouple growth from degradation, align business practices with ocean stewardship, and unlock triple-win investments—for resilient industries, thriving coastal communities, and a healthy ocean.”

“Coastal and marine tourism must evolve to support sustainability, not undermine it,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. “Through the One Ocean Finance Facility, we can accelerate investments that decouple tourism growth from environmental degradation and uplift local communities.”

“One Ocean Finance is a step toward systemic change,” said Minna Epps, Global Ocean Policy Director, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). “The co-design process offers a rare opportunity to rethink how global finance can drive nature-positive outcomes, strengthen coastal resilience, and deliver equity for the communities most affected by ocean degradation. If we act boldly now, we can chart a course toward a more just and regenerative ocean economy.”

“A sustainable ocean economy has the potential to create 51 million new jobs by 2050, but it can only thrive with smarter, more equitable financing,” said Cynthia Barzuna, Deputy Director of the Ocean Program, World Resources Institute. “One Ocean Finance is an invaluable chance to align capital flows with nature-positive outcomes—ensuring investments reduce risks, support emissions reductions, boost resilience and create jobs - benefitting the most vulnerable coastal communities.”

This was first published here.