Oceans are critical to the health of our planet, the regulation of climate, and the contribution to the global economy. The “Blue Economy” is a term used to describe the “sustainable utilisation of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and ocean ecosystem health.” This continues to be an important sector globally and offers many services through industries such as marine transportation, fishing, coastal tourism, and new biotechnologies.
However, this sector faces unprecedented challenges due to climate change, marine pollution, and ocean overexploitation. The financing of a Blue Economy is not just an environmental necessity; it is a smart economic investment.
Why the Blue Economy Matters Right Now
Our oceans are at the centre of the health of billions of livelihoods and the annual $2.5 trillion global GDP.
- Climate Regulation: Oceans regulate climate by sequestering a significant portion of the world’s CO2, as well as creating most of the oxygen we breathe.
- Food Security: Fisheries support global food security by being the primary protein source for a large global population.
- Economic livelihoods: Coastal communities around the world heavily rely on ocean-related employment and income.
Funding for Ocean Health: A New Wave of Financing
The old way of extracting resources from the ocean has reached a ceiling. Now we need new financing mechanisms or models that underpin business ventures, protecting and restoring marine ecosystems while also being financially interesting.
Green Bonds Become Blue
Just as green bonds refer to any environmentally based projects and programs, there are new “blue bonds” aimed at financing ocean-based projects that are environmentally friendly. These range from sustainable fisheries and renewable ocean-based energy, such as wave or tidal, to marine conservation and pollution reduction.
There is a growing trend of funds allocated to sustainable ocean industries because these modalities have both measurable environmental aspects and better long-term fiscal stability. For finance professionals who seek to evaluate the mechanics and reporting of these instruments with long-term assurance, an understanding of financial reporting is critical, and there is no substitute for developing your skills through certification, such as the CPA certification.
Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
Investment in sustainable fishing engagement; investment in helping combat illegal fishing; investment in developing and implementing responsible aquaculture systems; finance to invest in advancing technology for better observation; investment in new “green” fishing gear; and finance to support community-based conservation efforts. Professional financial managers will need all the great business knowledge provided, understanding ACCA course fees and syllabuses, although it has little to do with our detailed requirements.
Ocean Renewable Energy
Ocean renewable energy development projects exploiting offshore wind, wave and tidal energy supply a clean energy source. These major capital expenditure projects are costly activities requiring a major level of investment, and innovative and practical financing structures are a fundamental part of the challenge to deploy these activities.
Meeting Challenges: How Financial Professionals Can Help
The financing of Blue Economy activities is complicated by the influence of particular challenges, including the often long-term nature of Blue Economy activities, the various perceptions of risk, and the lack of healthy and reliable impact measurements. Financial professionals can play important roles in both protecting and drilling down on these challenges.
- Impact Measurement and Reporting: Understanding the environmental and social impact alongside financial impacts is necessary. Accountants and finance analysts can play significant roles in developing the transparency frameworks for reporting. Professionals with CPA certification are also perfectly positioned to support the development of robust financial accounting and generally accepted, auditable standards for these emerging frameworks.
- Risk Management: Deciding on and managing risk, including climate risks, regulatory risks, and others pertinent to ocean-based investments, requires a specific area of expertise.
- Capital Assignments: This also means that deliberately allocating capital to genuinely sustainable projects requires a thorough understanding of financial markets but also environmental knowledge. It is possible to prepare professionals for such complex decisions by taking a considerable number of hours learning with the inclusivity of accounting modules on financial management in the ACCA course fees
The Future is Blue
The Blue Economy is not a concept but a growing sector with endless possibilities for sustainable investment and innovation. As society realises the undeniable link between the health of our oceans and the success of our economies, the need for financial talent to drive the transition will continue to build. Those with sophisticated financial education will be in a leadership position to create a sustainable future for our planet’s most important resource.
A strong foundation in accounting (such as a CPA certification or comparable designation) or a global business perspective (such as a comparison of the ACCA course fees) will be valuable in this new frontier.
