The term “blue economy” has been circulated among environmental commentators for years—usually meaning whatever the speaker wants it to mean. For some, it’s about sustainable fisheries and marine protected areas. For others, it’s a broad term that can encompass offshore wind, deep-sea mining, and blue carbon credits. And to skeptics, it’s a convenient buzzword that remains vague when it comes to measurable actions.
Until recently, the concept didn’t have an operational definition or a credible funding stream. That lets the term be understood in a range of ways, whether a corporate-friendly approach to conservation, or a new way to talk about extracting marine resources, sustainably or otherwise.
Yet the time when the ocean was treated as an afterthought in climate discussions is ending. A critical mass of investors, scientists, and community leaders are no longer asking if the blue economy is real and instead figuring out how quickly they can scale it.
In one corner, a glaciologist who’s just returned from a Greenland expedition reflected on the prospects for geoengineering, while in another, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists discussed ocean-based carbon credits. Over coffee, community organizers shared how they were training locals to monitor whales and collect environmental DNA data to inform the management of marine protected areas.
The blue economy isn’t a subject matter that’s restricted to a single sector. It’s a web of real projects, balance sheets, and social relationships based on the premise that the ocean is not infinite. It’s a living system whose health, in turn, determines the viability of coastal communities, supply chains, and insurance portfolios.
The conversation has moved beyond whether these changes are happening, to who is doing the work to fix them, and how people can get them the money they need.
We often talk about tipping points in a negative sense, like when an ecosystem degrades too far to be salvageable. But there are “positive” tipping points too, when the restoration of an ecosystem builds upon itself and leads to positive shifts elsewhere. A recovering kelp forest on the Pacific Coast might allow sea otters to be introduced.
There are social tipping points too: the mainstreaming of blue bonds might encourage conglomerates to adopt schemes like the TNFD.
But it’s important to remember that there isn’t a silver bullet when it comes to conservation, sustainability and emissions reduction. No one at Villars claimed a victory: Regulatory frameworks are still fragmented and data on the deep ocean is still limited. The economy still rewards extraction over regeneration.
Yet the eye-rolling has stopped. What Villars told me is that the ocean economy is entering a phase of decentralized and cross-sector collaboration, instead of grand inter-governmental treaties. Local governments, communities and private investors are moving forward without waiting for global consensus.
Climate politics may be stalled in some national capitals. But ocean action is becoming a reality, through monitoring stations and mapping vessels. Investors are finally understand that a living ocean is a natural capital asset that matters to the balance sheet.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
