World Ocean Council Addresses Investment in the Ocean Economy
Ocean News
In the keynote interview at the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI) Summit in February, the World Ocean Council (WOC) CEO, Paul Holthus, described for institutional investors the opportunities for investing in responsible ocean economic development.
Holthus provided an overview of the ocean economy and recent trends for wealth fund operators and asset managers gathered at the SWFI Summit during the interview conducted by Jacques Demers, Managing Partner of Agawa Partners and Agawa Fund Management.
The discussion outlined the important opportunities for long term investment which are resulting from societal, environmental and policy drivers of change in the ocean economy, for example:
- Driver: Food security > Opportunity: Offshore mariculture
- Driver: Low carbon energy > Opportunity: Floating offshore wind energy
- Driver: Minerals for renewables > Opportunity: Seabed mining
- Driver: Low carbon transport > Opportunity: LNG-fuelled shipping
- Driver: Climate change > Opportunity: Port infrastructure adaptation to extreme weather events
Carl Linaburg, Chairman of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, said, “Our Institute has been actively supporting and conducting research into the potential for fiduciary institutional investors to pursue ocean focused investment opportunities. The SWFI members and participants fully welcomed and appreciated Paul’s introduction of both the World Ocean Council and the range and scale of potential ocean related investment opportunities.”
The SWFI Summit keynote by Holthus also presented the WOC “Ocean Investment Platform,” which is being developed to provide a global structure and process to identify and evaluate ocean industry opportunities for investment in responsible ocean development. Through this platform, and through collaboration with other forward-thinking organizations such as the SWFI, the WOC is facilitating synergies and economies of scale among investors and the ocean business community as a way to accelerate ocean sustainable development.
