Bloomberg Philanthropies Intensifies Efforts to Protect the World’s Ocean
New York, NY — Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced it is expanding its commitment to protect the ocean, coastal communities and marine ecosystems. The Bloomberg Ocean Initiative will invest $204 million to leverage data-driven solutions, policy solutions, and community involvement to protect coral reefs, stop illegal fishing, and safeguard marine ecosystems and biodiversity that are at risk from the growing impacts of climate change. Today’s commitment builds on Bloomberg’s efforts to fight climate change and aims to spur meaningful ocean action 45 days ahead of this year’s COP27, where Bloomberg will also sponsor one of the first-ever pavilions dedicated to showcasing the ocean’s critical role in the fight against climate change.
“The health of the ocean is critically important to people’s lives and livelihoods around the world. At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we’ve had success uniting conservation groups, local leaders, and national governments to protect the ocean. Now we’re deepening and expanding that work with a major new investment,” said Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The more international partners and funders we can bring together, the faster we can reach the ambitious target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 – and the faster we can strengthen communities that depend on the ocean every day.”
“We can’t begin to solve the climate crisis without considering the role of the ocean. Our ocean serves as an important climate regulator and a source of livelihood for one out of every 10 people in the world,” said John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. “Conserving or protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 is crucial for meeting climate and biodiversity goals. The Bloomberg Ocean Initiative will help serve as a catalyst for scaling funding, solutions, and engagement on the challenges we face with ocean conservation.”
The expansion will help countries and communities meet the global goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30) in some of the most biodiverse, climate-critical and economically important places around the world. To protect and defend the ocean, Bloomberg Ocean partners will advocate for science-based policies, work with communities to protect marine ecosystems, advance transparency at sea, strengthen coral conservation and tackle key threats like overfishing and pollution. Bloomberg Philanthropies will also spearhead efforts to dramatically increase private, public and philanthropic funding for ocean solutions and the communities that need them...