This report is the first such endeavour by the OECD to consider the ocean from an economic perspective, with a view to exploring what the Organisation’s future contribution might be in supporting national and international efforts towards a more sustainable development of the ocean economy in the future.
The report was designed as a cross-sectoral, cross-disciplinary foresight exercise. Particular attention has been devoted to the emerging ocean-based industries in light of their particularly high potential in terms of growth, innovation and contribution to addressing global challenges such as energy security, environment, climate change and food security. Hence, the present report examines the risks and uncertainties surrounding the future development of ocean industries, the innovations required in science and technology to support their progress, the environmental impacts of the industries, their potential contribution to green growth as well as their negative externalities, and some of the implications for planning and regulation. Finally, and looking across the future ocean economy as a whole, it explores possible avenues for action that could boost its long-term development prospects while managing the use of the ocean itself in responsible, sustainable ways.
On ocean energy a concluding observation is that “Game-changing technological breakthroughs could lead to rapid increases in gigawatt capacity”.
Available at: http://oecdinsights.org/2016/04/27/the-trillion-dollar-ocean/
