Overview
Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water highlights the importance of ocean health, yet progress toward its targets has lagged behind other SDGs. Collaboration is essential to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises while supporting vulnerable communities. We are increasing investments in coastal and marine areas, recognizing the link between ocean and climate action.
Opportunities
The sustainable blue economy promotes the use of ocean resources for economic growth, job creation, and food security, all while preserving marine ecosystems. It offers significant benefits, including renewable energy and biodiversity conservation.
GCF's role in the sustainable blue economy
The concept of a sustainable blue economy is gaining traction, unlocking potential while addressing environmental challenges. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) finances projects that protect marine ecosystems, support sustainable fisheries, and enhance ocean-related livelihoods. By employing diverse financial instruments, GCF de-risks investments and encourages private sector involvement.
Investors increasingly view the blue economy as a vital area for growth and sustainability. GCF aids coastal communities in becoming more resilient to climate change, tapping into the multi-trillion-dollar potential of this sector.
GCF support
Coastal resilience: The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, elevated ocean temperatures, and pollution pose significant challenges to coastal communities and marine ecosystems. In response, we focus on building resilient infrastructure, developing early warning systems, and protecting marine ecosystems while promoting climate-smart fisheries practices to enhance the livelihoods of those dependent on ocean resources.
Sustainable fisheries: Climate change is threatening the health of fisheries and altering fish migratory patterns. Our efforts are directed toward supporting small-scale fisherfolk in adapting their practices and identifying alternative livelihoods, ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and food security for vulnerable communities.
Scaling up the blue economy: The main barriers to scaling ocean finance include an inadequate enabling environment and insufficient investment in the blue economy. We are committed to fostering technological, policy, and financial innovations that support ocean-related initiatives, ultimately promoting sustainable economic development while addressing investment barriers and enhancing gender equity in the sector.
Stories
From salty waters to stronger futures: crab farming boosts livelihood resilience along Bangladesh’s coast
07 Jun 2025 / Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Shyamnagar, in the Satkhira District of southwestern Bangladesh, is bordered by the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest—a coastal landscape with low-lying terrain.
Cuba's coastal communities fight climate change
04 Jun 2025 / In the coastal neighbourhood of Litoral in Manzanillo, Cuba, the sea is both a lifeline and a threat. Every time a storm darkens the sky, families like Martha Labrada’s brace for evacuation. And even on calm days, saltwater seeps silently into the land, corroding house foundations and tainting freshwater wells. “The water almost always enters this area,” says Labrada, aged 65, who has led the community council here for more than a decade. “The houses were built too close to the sea, and the mangroves are deforested.”
Forecasting hope: climate action for a more resilient Cook Islands
03 Jun 2025 / Cook Islanders have a close connection to their land and feel a sense of stewardship to protect it against the rapidly changing climate. However, extreme coastal hazards are increasing, including rising sea levels, tropical cyclones, and changing rainfall patterns, putting coastal communities and the livelihoods that depend on them at risk.