The Ocean of Tomorrow (eBook)

As a response to the climate crisis and its effect on marine ecosystems and coastal populations, this book proposes concrete science driven solutions at establishing transformation pathways towards Sustainable Blue Growth, that are supported by technically and socially innovative innovations.

This book proposes investment options and management solutions that have the potential of making our seas and oceans resilient to crises- climate, financial, health- by laying the foundations for a green/blue, circular economy that is anchored in science driven solutions and geared toward public well-being. Now is the time to usher in systemic economic change and the good news is that we have our blueprint: it's the combination of UN Agenda 2030 (17 SDG) and European Commission's European Green Deal!

There is no doubt that the Earth's survival will depend on the protection and sustainable management of our seas and oceans and the resources they provide. This is recognized by the Joint Communication on International Ocean Governance, which is an integral part of the EU's response to the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular to the targets set out by Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) to 'conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources'.

The analytical framework and science-driven concrete management solutions proposed in this book can accelerate the transition to a sustainable management of our seas and oceans, by turning the current challenges into opportunities for sustainable economic growth which is both environmentally resilient and leaves no one behind.

The Volume Editor, Professor Dr. Phoebe Koundouri holds a PhD and MPhil in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Cambridge (UK). She is Professor (Chair) of Sustainable Development (Economics and Econometrics) at the School of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece) and she is the elected President of the European Association of Environmental and Natural Resource Economists (EAERE) (with more than 1200 scientific member institutions, from more than 75 different countries). Prof. Koundouri is listed in the 1% of most-cited women economists in the world, with 15 published books and more than 250 published scientific papers. She also edited volume 1 of 'The Ocean of Tomorrow' with subtitle 'Investment Assessment of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms: Methodology and Applications' (ISBN 978-3-319-55770-0) which was published by Springer in 2017.

Prof. Phoebe Koundouri is also the Founder and Scientific Director of the Research laboratory on Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES) at the Athens University of Economics and Business and an affiliated Professor at the ATHENA Research and Innovation Center (Greece) where she directs EIT Climate-KIC Hub Greece of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. She is also the co-chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Network Greece (UN SDSN Greece), chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Centre for Research on the Environment and the Economy (ICRE8) and chair of the scientific advisory board of the European Forest Institute.

In the past, Professor Koundouri has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge, University College London, the University of Reading and the London School of Economics. She acts as an advisor to the European Commission, World Bank, EIB, EBRD, OECD, UN, NATO, WHO, numerous national and international foundations and organizations, as well as national governments in all five continents. Notably she is currently member of the drafting Priministerial Committee for 10-year development plan for Greece, as well as in the Climate Change Committee of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy. She holds a global leadership role in the UN SDSN for European Green Deal (EGD) implementation, Sustainable SHipping and Ports, 4-seas Blue Growth Initiative and is leader (together with Prof. Jeff Sachs) of the Senior Working Group on Transformation Pathways for the implementation of EGD. She is also a member of  the CEPR (Center for European and Policy Research)  Network (RPN) on Climate Changes. Since 1997, she has coordinated more than 77 interdisciplinary research projects and has attracted significant competitive research funding. Professor Koundouri and her large interdisciplinary team have produced research and policy results that have contributed to accelerating the research commercialization for the sustainability transition in Europe, as well as shaping European policies. Over the last two decades, Professor Koundouri has given keynote and public lecturers all over the world and received various prizes for academic excellence.