On 28^th June 2022, KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki and KEPSA Vice-Chair Mr. Jaswinder Bedi participated in the second day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon Portugal. The Forum was organized by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, with the support of the Municipality of Cascais and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and aimed at scaling up, in an efficient way, the financing of ambitious and innovative ocean action.

The opening session saw H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta deliver a keynote address, alongside Rt. Hon. António Costa – Prime Minister of Portugal. Others key speakers included Mr. Carlos Carreiras – Mayor of Cascais, Mr. Liu Zhenmin – UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – Director-General of the WTO, Mr. Mohamed Younis Menfi – President of Libyan Presidential Council and Mr. Iván Duque Márquez – President of Colombia.

During the Sustainable Blue economy investment forum, Mr. Carlos Carreiras in his opening remarks said that Cascais municipality boasts of discovering new energy resources while protecting the ocean and the environment in general. “The city has a protected marine and is transforming plastic waste into tables and snickers. We are also educating a new blue generation of our students and carrying out studies on our ecosystem among other programs.” He said.

In his speech, Mr. Liu Zhenmin UN USG, UN DESA, said that one of the biggest man-made disasters of all time is our consistent failure to conserve our ocean. “Every year, 11 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans. Every year, over 10 million tonnes of fish are wasted due to destructive fishing practices. Ocean acidity has increased 20% since pre-industrial times. The ocean has absolved more than 90% of the excessive heat trapped in the earth’s climate system. We’re now facing grave consequences. 60% of the world’s marine ecosystems have been degraded, and 57 million jobs from marine fisheries are at stake. We’re gathered here today because we must acknowledge our solemn responsibility to fix our oceans.” He said.

Rt. Hon. Costa in his speech said that the forum aimed at creating opportunities for investments, businesses, and jobs. While mentioning that Sustainable Blue Economy is one of the main paths to economic development in our present and future, he said that there is a connection between Green and Blue Economies. “We cannot hasten to transition to a greener economy if we don’t pay attention to the oceans. If we don’t fight ocean pollution and over-exploitation of marine natural resources, we cannot claim to have a green economy. For the private sector, a sustainable Blue economy is one of the main opportunities to create wealth, jobs, and economic development in our present time.” He said.

H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his address, reiterated the importance of the Ocean as the next investment frontier, saying that it contributes about $1.5 trillion to the global economy each year, and its asset value is estimated at around $24 trillion. “The ocean is also a source of food for billions and an untapped source of green energy. This forum, therefore, provides an opportunity for enterprises to promote Blue Economy products and provide a platform for the private sector to meet, network and do business with their international counterparts. It is an opportunity to learn about best practices in the blue economy, including its enabling circular economy value chains. The aim is to design investments that will ensure that environmental protection, economic production, and shared prosperity go hand in hand.” He said.

In his speech, Mr. John Kerry – Special Presidential Envoy for Climate from USA said, “The urgency of our getting this right is now, in this decade. For the simple reason that this effort to respond to the climate crisis is not driven by geopolitics, ideologies or nation-state competition, but by science. And it has shown that we have 8 years to implement key decisions, to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. Unfortunately, we’re not moving fast enough. Transitioning our economies to clean energy economies is the solution to the climate crisis. For this, we need the private sector to help us accelerate this journey as fast as we need to in order to make it.”

Ms. Ngozi Okonjo the Director-General of the WTO, in her speech, compelled the participating nations to invest more in projects that help to contribute to SDG 14, and others that contribute to better governance of our oceans as such investments would have a wider and longer-lasting impact if they’re diversified across sectors. “Public and private partnerships for investment will need to be underpinned by sustainability principles and robust ESG disclosures to ensure transparency. This is about making sure that profits and ocean health, go hand in hand.” She said.

On his part, Mr. Mohamed Younis Menfi, the President of Libyan Presidential Council said that his country was looking forward to having new ways of dealing with the economy due to the challenges we are facing.

H.E Iván Duque Márquez, the President of Colombia highlighted the progress his country had done in the energy sector. He said, “As a country, we decided to move very fast on non-conventional renewable energies. Four years ago when I assumed office, Colombia barely had 28 megawatts of installed capacity in non-conventional renewables. We passed through Congress, an energy transition bill, and we gave the right incentives. And as of today, we have 2800 megawatts. 100 times more than what we had when the administration began. We have allowed the country to experience new sources of energy that are creating green jobs. And we have also demonstrated that with those green jobs, we can enter the roadmap of green hydrogen or green ammonia with the idea of making Colombia the largest exporter of green hydrogen in the next decade.”

After the opening session, six-panel discussions were held with the KEPSA CEO Ms. Kariuki moderating the 6^th one on Circular economy investment for a sustainable blue economy, where she was joined by Dr. Chris Kiptoo – Principal Secretary, Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry; H.E. Carolina Cerqueira – Minister of State for the Social Area of Angola; H.E. Joaquim Leite – Minister of the Environment of Brazil; Mr. Bernardo Carvalho, CEO Oceano Fresco;  Ms. Janis Jones – CEO of Ocean Conservancy; Mr. Bruno Oberle – Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature; Ms. Sabine Roux de Bézieux – President, Fondation de la Mer and Ms Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary of UNCDF.

In her remarks, Ms. Kariuki said that “To make a sustainable Blue Economy a reality, we must engage market mechanisms, and redirect finance to drive investments in support of the ocean’s natural capital and resilience. At the same time, this reality will require phasing out any financial flows that contradict the vision of reconciling the ocean health and a sustainable Blue Economy.”

“Am glad that Kenya, which is co-hosting the Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum, kicked off this global movement in November 2018, during the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held in Nairobi. Today, it gives me hope that we’re collectively scaling up ocean action, especially through innovation, and our discussions here will form the basis for increasing cooperation and coordination at all levels. In the end, the forum is expected to among others generate new and additional commitments toward addressing the challenges facing the Blue Economy sector in countries across the world.” Said Ms. Kariuki.