The world meets in Lisbon, from June 27th to July 1st, to discuss how to save the oceans. The world conference urge leaders and different stakeholders to scale up the campaign to mobilize politicians to find solutions. In this race to save the world, the economy emerges as the engine that makes the match between resources and projects that will explore the oceans in a sustainable way.

In an interview with azul, António Nogueira Leite, economist and president of the Ocean Forum, highlights the potential that the Oceans Conference can have in the country’s offer in the area of ​​economy. Portugal does not lack sea, knowledge, talent, technology and a great collaborative spirit.

What are your expectations for the Ocean Conference?

The ocean is an essential theme and has to do with creating conditions for a better future. We, Fórum Oceano, are one of the two Portuguese stakeholders at the conference, along with the Oceano Azul Foundation. We are responsible for managing an official side events area, in which we will have 77 conferences on the economy of the sea. We have seen a lot of interest in a sea economy and also in Portugal as an investment destination, namely foreign investment related to the sea. Many of them are still in an embryonic stage. What is that, for that to happen, be the destination of this investment, we have to have costs of the licensing context, either of the administrative processes, which are clearly one of the heels of the Portuguese economy. And we have to have a good organization. We are on many paths, we and many interested parties to have a good organization of ecosystems in blue, so that it is easy for various entities, namely investment funds specializing in the economy, to find business projects to invest. Therefore, we hope that, in addition to the essential and fundamental objectives, they will also contribute to the intensification of the blue and clear economy, to take advantage of the Portuguese sea, to take advantage of the Portuguese sea.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs recently said that he liked to see Lisbon as “the city-bearer” between investors and projects. Is that also your expectation?

Yes, and the whole expectation is that but to have it not only for Lisbon. Even the economy of the sea has developed in Portugal in a not very relevant way, that is, there are relevant poles in the North, in the region of Aveiro de Leiria. The Algarve has also done a great deal, as has Madeira, and the Azores are starting. Therefore, there are projects and a lot of attempt, whether many authorities, universities or companies, to create collaborative networks at local, national and international levels.

The oceans are under pressure, but the way most of the Earth’s environment causes society to be affected by many impacts on the oceans. António Nogueira Leite, president of the Ocean Forum

Is the blue economy the engine for us to be able to save the oceans?

Yes, but it really depends on how we do it. Right now, the oceans are under pressure, because they are the largest ecosystems on Earth, but the way we organize ourselves in society means that a lot of waste from human activity has had an impact on the oceans. The way we move across the ocean has also had a major impact on ecosystems. In this sense, there is a whole set of activities in the ocean and outside the ocean that we have to adapt if we want it to be more sustainable.

And innovation, science, technology, how do they match the economy in this solution?

They get married essentially because, if they look a lot at the financing that will be present in Lisbon, they have a very strong preference, I would say almost exclusively, for riskier investments. And this is what we have been doing in Portugal of the Ocean for the last 13 years, that is, creating and designing2 solutions in which they are public entities, knowledge entities and also as companies. And it is in this symbiosis that they find us to discover that the means exploit, as wealth, in a way that is environmentally and socially sustainable. In recent years, as financial entities, namely investment funds, they have revealed a particularly important concern for innovation, but within what is environmentally sustainable. We know that economic and ecological values ​​depend on the health of the marine environment. Therefore, there are also many projects that can have economic value and that aim to protect marine and coastal ecosystems. Or take away from features that without the damage. I will give an example. We are participating in a project requested by the Regional Government of Madeira that has to do with a way to keep the environment of the Selvagens Islands viable, through instruments that can be monetized. In other words, there is an economic value. It is necessary to see how it manages to finance the activity.

And how is it achieved?

We still don’t have the study completely completed, but the idea is to be able to find a way to, when we enter, or make a way that takes into account all the perspective impacts on an ESG, that is, economic, social and environmental. In other words, before promoting any activity, even tourism in a sustainable way, know what are the forms of financing to oblige all activities that occur without jeopardizing the ecosystem. This is relative and it’s a modern perspective of looking at this issue.

Or, without being able to monetize, will you not be able to protect the ocean?

We may not have the means. Therefore, we have ways to find, because we penalize certain activities, we create benefits for others.

And when will we have the results of this study?

It will be during this year.

I was just saying that investors are very committed to the economy of the sea. Is it possible to know the volume of investment that can circulate in Lisbon?

There is a great potential, but I don’t have quantification of concrete projects. Anyway, we have very diversified investors. We have regular investment funds, specialist investment funds, international organizations such as the European Investment Bank, family offices in North America and Europe. But this is not a closing of contracts by the Portuguese Investment Agency, we are creating conditions for these contracts to materialize in the long term.

Is being able to show all our potential a unique opportunity for Portugal?

Undoubtedly. Although we are already involved in many projects of international scope. But entirely alone. This is a unique window of opportunity to open doors or to consolidate relationships that come from behind. It will give you a lot of visibility. It is clear that what will have more visibility is the ceremonial and political part, but it is this form of work that will be done in the lateral parts of the conference that can generate more resources for our companies, for the research centers.

We have to have clear context costs, whether for licensing or administrative processes, which are one of the Achilles’ heels of the Portuguese economy. And we have to have a good organization. António Nogueira Leite, president of the Ocean Forum

What potential does Portugal have to succeed in this new world of launched oceans?

We have the feature, which is a rare thing. We also have some tradition in certain activities and we have been developing our work in an almost silent way over the last 15 years. There is a very large set of entities, whether municipalities, university entities, research centers and companies, which create various projects in which they have interacted. Portugal in highly qualified and experienced people, not only in the economy of the sea, but also in work with proven experience between universities and companies. And on the other hand, we also have big players in the Portuguese economy that are important in the economy of the sea. I will give an example that we have never analyzed in this perspective. EDP, through EDP Renováveis, has 50% of the world’s largest offshore wind operator, which is OW – Ocean Winds, in partnership with ENGIE. This project is the result of many years of silent work. It was made on our coast, benefiting international partners, but also with a lot of local knowledge. Therefore, Portugal is seen as having a lot of coastline, a giant continental shelf that could get even bigger. We don’t have capital and people know, but we also have opportunities and we have technology, we have a lot of resources and we have many years of collaborative experience which is an important asset.

Speaking of areas where Portugal can be competitive. Have you already mentioned offshore wind, which others would you highlight?

In food, we are successful in some offshore aquaculture. There are several projects that are being tested on our coast. We also have capabilities in biotechnology. We have good technicians, good schools and people with good ideas. We know that food in the future will depend on the use of human marine ecosystems. There our capacity is important and I think there are many opportunities. Portugal starts with some advantages that have to do with the location, with the knowledge and with many years of experience applied in this area. Port activities can also be beneficiaries. There are more, but these are obvious in the sense that they highlight a fact of making a difference and playing a more important role.

Many projects, many ideas, but it takes investment to make it happen.

It is and there are already some things on the ground, but they still don’t have great expression. But this matches other initiatives. For example, the blue economy depends a lot on how much we can digitize. Digitization is also a big bet for the country, given the conditions it has, the people it has and will try. If we manage to combine these forces, better for the economy. Anyway, we lack capital, but I’m going to draw capital’s attention to what exists here and this is an important step. Now, some initiatives that already exist to scale. I think we are in the ideal conditions for the projects to have merit, which was proposed, because we created it to attract attention.

The Ocean Forum will organize One Sustainable Ocean as a side event at the Ocean Conference. What’s the point?

The idea is basically a systematic discussion about the opportunities of the blue economy and the importance of collaboration between different stakeholders. And, of course, “sell” that Portugal is a great place with skills to develop investments and to boost the investment that already exists in the blue economy. On the other hand, we have as public and private institutions in a good dialogue. It is not a hunt for university students, because the economy of the sea does not have much money, but there is what I think is more important, which is a fruitful and collaborative dialogue between entities, municipalities, the Government and national and foreign private players. Therefore, having the ingredients to boot in a more visible way.