Beyond SDG 14: The Ocean’s hidden role in climate, food, and economic stability

In the last blog, we explored ‘The Blue Economy Gap’, the idea that while the Ocean creates huge value that doesn’t automatically translate into investment. So, the obvious next question is: how are we responding to that gap?

Well, one of the clearest responses is the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life under water (SDG 14). SDG 14, water, the Ocean, having its own SDG is a clear signal that we recognise the importance, but we’re still figuring out how to fully account for it in the systems that drive decisions.

The Ocean has historically been overlooked in both economic and policy decisions, but SDG 14 brings visibility and sets global direction. It creates shared language and objectives for protecting the Ocean, whilst recognising, we also must ensure sustainable use of marine resources. A sustainable blue economy can offer significant economic benefits, with the value estimated at US$3-6 trillion a year. Yet, financing SDG 14, remains a problem. Recent reports suggest that c.$175 billion per year is needed to achieve SDG 14 by 2030, but SDG 14 remains the least funded of all SDGs.

It also highlights something else; we are trying to manage a system that we still, in the 21st century, don’t understand, using frameworks that were never designed for it. Because despite the Ocean underpinning economic stability, climate regulation, and food security globally, much of that value still somehow sits outside of how key decisions are made.

The Ocean in the global economy: critical, but background

We talk about the Ocean as a part of ‘The Blue Economy’ – fisheries, shipping routes, offshore energy, and tourism. Together these industries generate trillions in global value annually, but that’s only the ‘visible layer’.

The Ocean is the infrastructure behind global trade, around 80-90% of goods are moved by sea. So, when maritime routes are disrupted, the impacts ripple through supply chains, prices, and inflation, all felt right down to the individual level. And yet, in the context of most decision making the Ocean is treated as a given – stable, reliable, and somehow separate from financial risk. But we know it isn’t…

Climate regulation: the invisible economic service

The Ocean absorbs around 25-30% of global CO2 emissions and around 90% of excess heat. These functions not only reduce the cost and severity of climate change but also stabilise systems that the global economy depends on. However, these attributes don’t directly generate revenue, and that’s a big problem, because that means there is no way for anyone to directly price its value, and thus, it is rarely considered in financial models or strategic planning, despite being integral.

This creates a blind spot. A dangerous one too because the Ocean degrades, the economic consequences won’t stay contained. They will show up as volatility in energy systems, agriculture, insurance and infrastructure.

Food security: exposure beneath the surface

Fish might not be the top of the menu for a lot of diners in the UK, but across the globe the Ocean is the primary source of protein for billions of coastal and island communities, many of which are economically vulnerable. Even in the UK, where consumption is concentrated on a few species, supply chains are still heavily dependent on global marine trade.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production system right now, expanding by around 9% annually over recent decades. It is increasingly seen as a stable, investable food source, as shown by its contribution to global fish production growing from ~4% to >50% in the last 50 years. Despite this, aquaculture is still dependent on a healthy Ocean - good water quality, diverse ecosystems, and strong wild stock interactions.

At the same time, overfishing, stock concentration, and climate impacts are creating fragility across the Ocean food supply chain. So, while the system might appear stable on the surface to many right now, it’s increasingly becoming more exposed underneath.

Ocean degradation = financial risk

While not always directly stating it, SDG 14 makes it clear that Ocean degradation is an environmental issue, yes, but it’s also fundamental financial one.

·       Fish stocks are being treated as overdrawn capital, reducing future returns

·       Coastal damage and erosion are increasing infrastructure and insurance costs

·       Pollution and ecosystem loss is impacting tourism, trade, and housing

·       Rising sea levels create stranded assets and long-term liabilities

These risks are generally unclearly priced or attributed, and they are still often underestimated, despite many examples of the impact of these risks across the world.

Where SDG 14 connects to the bigger picture

It’s important to understand that SDG 14 doesn’t sit on its own, but directly intersects with many of the other 17 SDGs set out by the UN around economic priorities:

·       Food Security (SDG 2): Ocean health underpins global protein supply

·       Economic Growth (SDG 8): Entire industries depend on a functioning Ocean

·       Climate Stability (SDG 13): The Ocean influences temperature and emissions

You cannot expect any real progress on any of these goals without addressing the elephant in the room… the Ocean.

This once again reinforces the same point: the Ocean is embedded in the system, even when it’s not visible in decision-making.

Investment: the same constraint applies

There’s clear growing interest in investing in the Ocean - sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, offshore energy, and even blue carbon. But this links us back directly to last week’s blog. Because investment generally flows to what generates clear, predictable, profitable returns.

So, while there are all these amazing opportunities, the same structural challenge remains – most of the Ocean’s value still isn’t presented or set up in a way that finance can interact with it. This helps to explain why so much capital continues to flow more easily into extractive/revenue generating activities, rather than creating system-wide resilience.

Why these connections matter

One of the biggest challenges with Ocean issues is that they are often still framed as isolated environmental problems, rather than as part of a much larger interconnected system. But the Ocean is deeply tied to climate stability, food systems, trade, economies, and everyday life.

When these connections are not fully recognised, it becomes easier to underestimate both the value the Ocean provides and the risks associated with its decline. This is why conversations around the Ocean are increasingly shifting beyond conservation alone and towards systems thinking, resilience, and long-term sustainability.

Understanding the Ocean now is about recognising how connected the Ocean is to the systems societies and economies depend upon every day.

So where does this leave us?

SDG 14 is obviously an important step in the right direction. It sets clear direction while raising visibility. But it doesn’t solve the underlying challenge. The real issue isn’t just protecting the Ocean (that is still very important!) – but understanding how the Ocean connects to the systems we all rely on, and how these connections translate into decisions.

Right now, I think understanding is still very much incomplete.

A different starting point

I think before we ask ourselves how to increase investment into the Ocean, or how we achieve the SDG goals, there is a more fundamental question to answer first: Do we understand the system we are trying to manage?

Ultimately without that understanding there is a real risk of building strategies that might look right on paper but can’t hold up in practice.

This is where Ocean Literacy comes in.

It’s not about awareness for the sake of awareness, but about actually seeing and understanding the full system, from how the Ocean creates value, how risks emerge, and how decisions shape outcomes.

Once these become clearer, that better decisions for the future of both the Ocean and us will follow.

This is where Ocean Literacy becomes increasingly important

Ocean literacy helps people better understand how the Ocean connects to climate, economies, food security, and the decisions made across society every day.

As these connections become clearer, it’s easier to understand these relationships as an important part of building a more resilient future for both people and planet.

 by Alana Wilson (with editorial direction from Professor Leanne Hepburn)