Since 2012, The Economist Group has hosted the World Ocean Summit. Last year’s summit in Bali, Indonesia brought together more than 360 global and youth leaders from 36 countries. There, government, academic, industry, the scientific community and civil society discussed the future of our oceans and made pledges to work toward a more sustainable transition.
This year, The Economist pulled together a successful World Ocean Summit, held at Riviera Maya, Mexico, on March 7th–9th. The fifth summit focused on five main pillars: sustainable fisheries; pollution; climate change; finance; and technology.
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“If 2017 was the year of big promises, 2018 must be about delivery,” says The Economist. United Nations held its first ocean conference in June, the plights of oceans hit the news with such headlines as “China No Longer Wants Your Trash”, and BBC’s Blue Planet II documentary shocked a global audience.
The Summit would like to see a robustly healthy ocean alongside a vital economy through sustainable means. The panel of distinguished guests and speakers covered:
- China and the ocean economy
- Responding to ocean plastic
- Determining future global seafood demand
- Evaluating sustainability of business’s investments in the ocean
- Technology’s role in the progress of ocean health
Missed this event? The 2019 Ocean Summit event will be held in Abu Dhabi in March 2019.
For event updates, please follow the Summit on Twitter.
Written By: Adriane Rysz