SDG Driver Business-as-usual More sustainable future
7 Affordable & Clean Energy Research & Innovation Innovation largely within industry silos. The uptake of offshore renewables is patchy, and benefits in terms of decarbonisation efforts are sub-optimal. Deployment of offshore renewable energy (in particular offshore wind) grows fast in the UK, EU and China. However in other jurisdictions, this growth is less rapid due to technical challenges and a yet to be established supply chain. Shared investments and technologies. Offshore industry collaborates and shares investment in research, technology and infrastructure. This allows for faster innovation and delivers efficient technology that aims, for example, at zero waste generation and carbon neutral footprints. Increased production and uptake of offshore renewables, innovation in energy storage systems, and co-location of renewable production with other sectors achieves decarbonisation. By 2030 offshore aquaculture is a major carbon sequestration industry and source of bioenergy.
8 Decent Work & economic growth
Governance
Continuous pursuit of economic growth without a focus on circular economy (underlying economic model) Inadequate redistribution of benefits. Offshore activities are corporatized and resource ownership highly concentrated. Companies are granted rights to access offshore resources under legal frameworks that silo development considerations and thus undermine conservation. Low corporate taxation and inadequate mechanisms for redistributing benefits mean that inequities persist, and wealth is further concentrated. Pursuit of sufficiency and circular economy; downscaling of production and reduction of consumption in high-consumption countries (underlying economic model) Fair redistribution of benefits. Governments ensure equitable use of offshore resources with developments predicated on need and sited for maximum positive and synergistic outcomes. Planning processes include systematic ecological and socioeconomic assessments such as those developed for multi-use offshore platforms. Government incentivises research collaboration and encourages private sector investment. Lease and licencing arrangements is through national and international institutions. Fees capture economic rents that can be used to relieve poverty, improve health and well-being, and education.
9 Industry Innovation & Infrastructure
Governance Values of the Ocean Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Weak private sector engagement with SDGs. The growing cost of deteriorating environmental health to businesses encourages greater engagement with sustainability. However, quick fixes result in some of these efforts being ineffective. The lack of regulatory policies factoring in the cost of environmentally damaging behaviours results in industry continuing to use the environment as a free resource. Innovation within industry silos. Technology and knowledge transfer is limited. The benefits of innovation are concentrated in a small number of profitable companies. Individual industries still bear the brunt of most R&D expenditure. Sustainable and economically viable operations for emergent industries are slower than anticipated due to the need to work in a remote, harsh and poorly understood environment Hidden data and information (see SDG 14) Structured approach to offshore developments. Offshore developments require considerable research to overcome manufactory challenges and to understand and mitigate potential environmental impacts. A two stage process is put in place to ensure a structured approach to offshore developments. Greater private sector engagement with SDGs. Social and environmental responsibility drives more cost effective private sector engagement with SDGs and sustainability. Standard auditing practices require businesses to explicitly show externalities, and sustainability in annual reporting. Investors increasingly consider businesses contribution to wellbeing and environmental stewardship to choose investment options. Shared investments and technologies. Industry terms of references for working offshore include shared investment in innovation and infrastructure. Innovation focuses on developing and integrating technologies for multi-use offshore platforms, and on global issues - e.g. climate change mitigation. Integrated management approaches and shared information platforms allow for faster innovation and technological developments. Transparent data and information (see SDG 14)
12 Responsible Consumption and Production
Governance Values of the Ocean Values of the Ocean Inadequate redistribution of benefits (see SDG 8) Weak environmental consciousness (see SDG 14) Weak private sector engagement with SDGs (see SDG 9) Fair redistribution of benefits (see SDG 8) Greater environmental consciousness (see SDG 14) Greater private sector engagement with SDGs (see SDG 9)
14 Life below water
Values of the Ocean Governance Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Values of the Ocean Governance Weak environmental consciousness. Slow development of sustainable solution for offshore areas is due to 1) the tendency of society to look to offshore alternatives only when land based solutions reach breaking point; 2) a failure to think strategically about cumulative and intergenerational impacts; 3) poor reflection upon the values of offshore areas, which are ‘out of sight and out of mind’. Ineffective environmental management. Politically motivated simplification of environmental regulatory constraints sees multiple use zoning degrade to “paper parks”. A policy vacuum sees slow regulatory action around developments of new offshore industries. Offshore waters effective division into areas for production by individual sectors and areas for conservation means that opportunities for co-location are lost and the assessment of cumulative effects is compromised. Minimal investment in monitoring that is useful at a systematic scale and constrained regulatory budgets further hamper the management of impacts. Hidden data and information. Data collected during exploration voyages to assess the economic potential of offshore resources are only partially shared. This prevents full cataloguing of baseline ecological functions, delays policy and regulatory development and hampers the growth of sustainable ocean business. Innovation within industry silos (see SDG 7 & 9) Weaker private sector engagement with SDGs (see SDG 9) Greater environmental consciousness. Increased environmental consciousness increases demand for environmental friendly options. This is partly due to 1) a growing recognition that the instrumental values of the ocean are at risk if environmental values are not maintained; 2) technological innovations allowing for informed personal choices and facilitating the engagement with participatory processes. Effective environmental management. The impacts of offshore infrastructure and decommissioning issues are carefully considered. Cooperation between government, industry and academia lead to agreed and evidence-based measures for marine environmental protection. This is possible as high resolution scientific data become available and shared. Transparent data and information. High resolution scientific data are widely available and shared across sectors and countries. Greater information sharing reduces individual costs of EIAs and planning processes and accelerates evidence-based actions and attainment of sustainable solutions. Shared investments and technologies (see SDG 7 & 9) Greater private sector engagement with SDGs (see SDG 9) Structured approach to offshore developments (see SDG 9)
16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
Governance Partnership Inadequate redistribution of benefits (see SDG 8) Geopolitical emphasis on expansion. As new offshore resources are discovered, countries expand their territorial claim (EEZs) and maritime power to ensure continued access. Tensions increase and, without suitable international resolution mechanisms, the risk of open hostility is high. Fair redistribution of benefits (see SDG 8) Geopolitical emphasis on sustainability. Tension between countries and risk of open conflicts drops as geopolitical emphasis moves to sustainable use of shared resources, decarbonisation and a circular economy. Such tension is not eradicated, but geopolitical processes are initiated to support conflict resolution, shared management of resources.
17 Partnership for the goals
Partnership Research & Innovation Governance Research & Innovation Partnership Loss of collaboration. Without firm motivation, developments are characterised by competition and asymmetric power relations. The legitimacy of the Blue Economy construct is damaged. Societal expectations are not met and the public is disenfranchised with offshore Blue Economy outcomes. Innovation within industry silos (see SDG 9) Ineffective environmental management (see SDG 14) Hidden data and information (see SDG 14) Geopolitical emphasis on expansion (see SDG 16) Global collaboration. The common need for technological innovations, for integrated monitoring, and the recognition that offshore developments have the potential to address multiple SDGs foster global collaborations. Cooperation and knowledge sharing between land-based, coastal and offshore industries allows shared learning and the implementation of effective governance structures. Societal expectations around the development of new opportunities on the one side and sustainability, equity and minimisation of footprint on the other are met. Shared investments and technologies (see SDG 9) Effective environmental management (see SDG 14) Transparent data and information (see SDG 14) Geopolitical emphasis on sustainability (see SDG 16)