The top ocean donors

As COP 26 came to an end, the Blue Leaders, a coalition of government and ocean advocates, urged heads of state to turn their attention to the ocean. They set two goals: to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030, and conclude a new United Nations treaty on the conservation and protection of marine biodiversity. Climate change mitigation is primarily focused on reducing carbon emissions, but experts have pointed out that it is also important to recognize the critical role the ocean plays in attaining this goal, which is to act as a buffer by absorbing excess heat and storing carbon dioxide. Devex looked into the report on trends in marine development funding published by research group Our Shared Seas. It shows that grants from official development assistance grew by 80% between 2010 and 2019. But it also shows that bilateral and multilateral donors spent less on average than philanthropic organizations — $728.8 million compared to $736.8 million. Who are the top ODA grant donors investing in the ocean? The total ocean-related grant ODA in 2019 was $991.3 million — only 1.3% of the $79.6 billion climate-related financing that year. Four in our list of the top five climate donors were also the biggest providers of marine-related grants from 2010 to 2019, with the Global Environment Facility replacing the United Kingdom in the fifth spot. Together, the five donors spent $3 billion over the past decade. France was the leading donor, with average annual spending of $80 million. While it was way above the $26.1 million annual average of the top 20 donors, its grant spending was still $5 million less than the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s financing — the leading philanthropic provider of ocean-related grants. Japan, European Union institutions, and Germany collectively spent $174.8 million annually, while GEF spent $47.4 million. Some of the top donors’ projects include: • $145 million from GEF for a sustainable blue economy in the Pacific region. • $3.8 million (€3.4 million) from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the West Indian Ocean. • $7.6 million (€6.7 million) from Agence Française de Développement for ocean waste management. • $21 million (€18.4 million) from the European Union for a sustainable blue economy among its member states. • $1.7 million (¥200 million) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support the fisheries industry in Solomon Islands. Interestingly, two major ODA providers were not included in either the top climate, or ocean donors: the United States, which was the largest ODA grant provider in 2019 in absolute terms, and the U.K., which hosted COP 26 this year. There are some signs the U.K. may be stepping up its ocean funding, despite its announcement on aid cuts. The U.K. made a number of marine-related commitments during the climate conference, including $20 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance and £6 million ($8 million) to World Bank’s PROBLUE fund, which supports sustainable ocean projects. Meanwhile, the U.S. vowed enhanced climate ambitions, although it is still unclear how this would translate to ocean financing. The report also tracked non-grant aid funding to the ocean, including loans. While it is not in the list of top grant providers, the World Bank ranked ahead of other donors when all aid flows are taken into account. On average, the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development spent $210.8 million annually on ocean-related projects. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.