UN Expands Ocean Investment Protocol to Include Central Banks and Financial Regulators — United Nations Global Compact

Event summary

The UN Global Compact and UNEP FI convened a closed-door roundtable on June 23, 2026, to expand the Ocean Investment Protocol to include recommendations for central banks and financial regulators.
Participants recognized ocean decline as both an environmental challenge and a material macro-financial risk affecting price stability and sovereign creditworthiness.
The updated protocol aims to integrate ocean-related risks into financial supervision and risk management frameworks.
Feedback from the roundtable will inform the next iteration of the Ocean Investment Protocol, broadening its scope to reflect the role of public financial authorities.

The big picture

The expansion of the Ocean Investment Protocol marks a strategic shift in recognizing ocean health as both an environmental imperative and a financial stability issue. With the market value of a sustainable ocean economy projected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2050, this update underscores the critical role of central banks and financial regulators in advancing a resilient global ocean economy.

What we're watching

Regulatory Integration: How central banks and financial regulators will incorporate ocean-related risks into their supervisory frameworks and risk management processes.
Market Alignment: Whether the financial system can effectively internalize the value of ocean ecosystems and align financial flows with sustainable ocean industries.
Protocol Adoption: The pace at which stakeholders will adopt the updated Ocean Investment Protocol and its impact on mobilizing capital toward a sustainable blue economy.