Oceans: a race against time to save marine resources

“Cultivate the sea and leave the land alone” was already the golden rule of the Republic of Venice a thousand years ago. Since then, the ocean economy – also known as the ‘blue economy’ – has grown much more rapidly than the land-based economy, exceeding 3,000 billion dollars and providing employment for over 100 million people, according to data from UNCTAD and the OECD. This growth is expected to continue until 2050, driven by two major areas: on the one hand, established sectors such as aquaculture, desalination, decarbonisation and telecommunications; on the other, emerging industries, including biotechnology, marine energy and other early-stage innovations.

Even today, the ocean regulates the climate, underpins 90 per cent of global trade, feeds 3 billion people, enables communications, and protects coastal communities and infrastructure through ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves. On the other hand, the blue economy faces enormous risks. Around 680 million people live in coastal areas set to be submerged by the rapidly escalating climate crisis: a figure that will exceed one billion by 2050. According to WWF calculations, global coastal infrastructure worth up to 4,000 billion dollars is at risk over the next decade. At a time when land-based resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the impacts of the climate emergency are accelerating, the sea is emerging not only as a system to be protected, but as a driver of economic growth and a major source of solutions for water, food, energy security and climate mitigation. Marine climate solutions could deliver up to 35 per cent of the emissions reductions needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050, according to the IPCC.

The key technologies for catalysing opportunities for sustainable growth are well known. In the food sector, overfishing and intensive aquaculture are being tackled by developing traceable supply chains, regenerative algae cultivation and alternative protein sources. To combat pollution from plastics, chemicals and agricultural run-off, we have various innovative systems for filtering plastic waste upstream (in rivers), mandatory wastewater treatment and waste recycling schemes. For ecosystem restoration, we have technologies for coral farming and regenerative infrastructure. For low-carbon transport, there are alternative fuels, green ports, the electrification of ships and even wind-assisted propulsion. For clean energy, there is offshore wind power, wave and tidal energy, and floating solar panels. For smart ocean systems, we have autonomous sensors, AI-based models and satellites. We simply need to apply what already exists on a large scale.

The point is that 64 per cent of the oceans (in terms of surface area) lie outside territorial waters, and less than 1 per cent of this area is currently protected. Problems such as plastic pollution, ocean acidification and overfishing are currently spiralling out of control. The new UN treaty on biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – also known as the High Seas Treaty – could begin to curb this race for marine resources, provided that the major powers adhere to it, changing their approach to the oceans – which is currently based on exploitation for fishing, oil and mineral extraction or trade routes, and by adopting regenerative practices.

The legally binding treaty, which came into force in January 2026 and has now been ratified by 90 countries (including China and many EU countries, but not the United States or Italia), provides national governments, for the first time, with a framework within which to designate, fund and manage protected areas, as well as to resolve the issue of who should benefit from lucrative marine genetic resources, which have the potential to lead to pharmaceutical discoveries. In this way, the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030 (the 30x30 target), as envisaged by the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP15 in 2022, also known as the ‘Paris Agreement for Nature’. However, at the current rate of protection, according to Greenpeace’s calculations, the 30 per cent target will not be achieved before 2107.