Creation date
The term Blue Economy varies in definition slightly by which organization is using it. The United Nations, which set forth 17 Sustainable Development Goals that describe a global blueprint for a way to avoid climate and economic disaster as a result of climate change, describes the Blue Economy as a way to protect the ocean and the maritime environment.
Despite the evolving definitions, the Blue Economy rests on the notion of a sustainable, ocean-based economy, in which maritime environments are most productive when they are healthy. Human activities such as overfishing and direct or indirect habitat destruction not only damage the ocean, they create an unsustainable economy set to crash when natural resources are exhausted or destroyed. Proponents of the Blue Economy argue that a new sustainable model needs to be implemented to avoid disaster.
Included in this sustainable model for economic growth is a range of activities concerning coastal areas, seas, and oceans that must be sustainable and socially equitable. The goal is to promote "blue growth" in this economic model so that people retain their livelihoods while establishing more sustainable uses of the world's oceans.
The high seas are being thought of by many economists as the next economic frontier, with a wealth of natural resources leading to economic growth, more jobs, and faster innovation. Already, many companies are investing in this new Blue Economy by creating sectors that didn't exist 20 years ago, such as blue carbon sequestration, biotechnology, and marine energy. The UN and other organizations around the world are trying to grow this concept and bring more players into the field who can create the potential for better employment, economic justice, and curbing the effects of climate change.
An example of this shift is a renewed focus on offshore wind energy, which, by some estimates, has the potential to create more than 18 times the electric power demand today.