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Only 2.9% of the ocean is officially safeguarded under “high protection.” In December 2022, at COP15, world leaders finally committed to protect 30% by 2030. Now it’s time to hold them to their promise.
In the new year, we continue to look for ways to elevate ocean-based climate solutions for the health and preservation of our planet and future. As part of this effort, we are participating in several upcoming conferences, including the 9th Our Ocean Conference taking place this April in Athens, Greece. There are many major issues on the agenda, including securing marine protection, stemming pollution, and fishing sustainably. But one area is particularly important to both the host country and the Blue Climate Collective: decarbonizing the shipping industry.
Greece is renowned as the largest ship-owning nation, with companies controlling more than a quarter of the world’s maritime transport. Shipping accounts for about 1 gigaton of carbon emissions annually, on par with the aviation industry and representing 3% of total global emissions. In fact, if the global shipping industry were a country, it would be the eighth largest emitter.
The path to a net zero future demands significant progress in decarbonizing maritime transport. The issue has been a central focus of recent global and regional climate conferences, like COP28, where U.S. Secretary John Kerry joined Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to discuss Greece’s ambitions for the upcoming conference, and where leading stakeholders expanded green shipping commitments as part of the Zero Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance.
Several of our 75 Collective members are championing innovative solutions in this arena. DeepSea Technologies, based in Greece, harnesses the latest in AI technology to improve vessel efficiency and reduce fuel consumption via a combination of technical and operational insights from detailed AI-generated performance models. Munich-based CargoKite aims to address emissions by introducing an innovative, autonomous micro cargo ship powered solely by wind energy. In the United Kingdom, Seabound is pioneering carbon capture equipment for large cargo ships, capable of trapping up to 95% of the CO2 from exhaust using patent-pending technology.
As we approach Our Ocean, we look forward to highlighting the great work of these members and sharing insights and updates from the conference. Of course, please let us know if you plan to be in Athens or at any of the other major ocean or climate conferences this year. And in the meantime, here are some recent news and developments in ocean-based climate solutions and member activities:
News and Updates from Collective Members
Following the close of a successful $5 million seed round, Sway has debuted their TPSea™ Resin and TPSea Flex™ film, biobased, home-compostable, microplastic-free ingredients that can replace flexible plastics such as retail bags and food wrappers at scale.
Seabound recently announced the completion of their first pilot project, which saw the capture of ~80% of CO2 during onboard trials.
Macro Oceans has developed Hydrating Marine Polysaccharides, a cosmetic ingredient derived from regenerative Alaska kelp that is extracted through a zero-waste process and fully traceable supply chain. The ingredient has seen promising results and has already been adopted by several beauty brands.
B’ZEOS has been honored as an official nominee for The Earthshot Prize 2024. The company is challenging single-use plastics via regenerative, sustainable seaweed to develop bio-based packaging solutions.
ECOncrete reflects on the success of their Red Electrica ecological sub-sea cable protection project, where the company’s bio-enhancing concrete technology not only protects natural infrastructure along the underwater trench, but also provides a hospitable habitat for diverse marine life.
Neptune Snacks founder Nick Mendoza was recently featured in an epsiode of Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast, where he spoke about his experience of science-informed fish production and transforming the food system from the inside.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our mission: elevating ocean-based climate solutions and the businesses and stakeholders making this incredible progress possible.