On June 28th, the Estoril Congress Center in Cascais hosted the Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum (SBEIF) event, organized by aicep Portugal Global, under the 2nd United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) 2022, which took place between June 27th and July 1st, in Portugal.
The Directorate General for Maritime Policy, operator of the Blue Growth Programme, joined this UNOC special event with an exhibition stand, that aimed to promote the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021 Financial Mechanism and the financed projects, through a multimedia presentation. The main objective was to disseminate the Programme in this important economic forum and to highlight the importance its contribution for value creation and sustainable growth in the Portuguese blue economy.
Carlos Carreiras, Mayor of Cascais, began the plenary session, followed by the introductory remarks of Liu Zhenminm, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations (UN), Augusto Santos Silva, President of the Assembly of the Republic and Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya. Their key message focused on the relevance of the sustainable blue economy in creating employment and development opportunities in countries. The session continued with the intervention of several speakers, including John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate of USA, who reinforced the importance of science in solving sustainability problems and the urgency in making decisions so that the planet can face the current climate crisis.
The event continued with 6 thematic panels that brought together several experts to discuss on the future of the blue economy:
- From global to local action – local governance on SDG 14 and blue economy;
- Sustainable Ocean principles: a framework for responsible business practices in the Ocean;
- Energy, digital and natural capital: new fields of action for a sustainable blue economy;
- Protection, production and prosperity: the 3 P’s contribution to the blue economy growth;
- How to mobilize funding for blue economy projects;
- Circular economy investment for sustainable blue economy.
At the closure session, Peter Thomson, the United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean, gave an inspiring wrap up speech, stressing the importance that funding in science-based solutions can have for the development of a sustainable blue economy on the planet. The session ended with the words of Bernardo Ivo Cruz, Secretary of State for Internationalization, with the promise of holding the Sustainable Blue Economy and Investment Forum, in Portugal, next year.
Watch the photo gallery about the event.