Sustainability Lecture - Ocean health, ocean wealth: Building a sustainable ocean economy

The ocean is a source of life: it provides half the oxygen we breathe, and it’s home to 50-80 per cent of all life on earth. The ocean is a source of livelihoods: more than 1 in 10 people depend on fisheries and aquaculture, and the global ocean economy is set to double in 15 years. The ocean is under threat: global warming, pollution, overfishing and loss of biodiversity cause harm to the planet, devastate lives and livelihoods and undermine economic and social development. How can we take action against the threats, optimize ocean opportunities and ensure that the ocean contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

Vidar Helgesen currently serves as Norway’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. Prior to this Helgesen was Minister of Climate and the Environment, Minister of EEA and EU Affairs and Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

The talk took place on 4 September 2019 and was moderated by Katherine Richardson.

The event was organised by the Sustainability Science Centre at the University of Copenhagen, as a part of the Sustainability Lecture Series.