Although coastal and maritime tourism, as well as fisheries and aquaculture, are being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, all of the European Union's economic sectors related to the oceans and coastal environment, referred to as the ‘blue economy’, have “a huge potential " to contribute to a green recovery, according to a report published on Thursday 11 June by the European Commission.
“Maritime renewable energy, food from the sea, sustainable coastal and maritime tourism, the blue bio economy and many other activities constituting the blue economy will help us come out of this crisis stronger, healthier, more resilient and sustainable”, said European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
In particular, the report highlights the potential of offshore renewable energy technologies which are expected to produce up to 35% of the EU's electricity by 2050.
In addition, the number of jobs in the offshore wind energy sector has increased nine-fold in less than a decade, contributing to the growth of the blue economy, which is still driven by the coastal tourism sector, the Commission says.
According to the report, the EU blue economy had a turnover of €750 billion in 2018 and employed 5 million people, a significant increase of 11.6% compared to 2017.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3dT46EN (original version in French by Damien Genicot)