Brief for Funders: Towards Responsible Investment in Ocean-Based Climate Actions

Developing strategies to sustain human and ecosystem functioning as Earth overshoots 1.5°C of global average warming is an urgent international challenge. The scale and intensity of change are triggering a host of novel ocean-based climate actions - including coral restoration, assisted evolution, and ocean alkalinity enhancement. However, marine governance systems and the comprehensive assessment of effectiveness and impact of ocean-based climate actions on people and ecosystems need to keep pace with the technological development. This brief offers practical strategies for funders who want to ensure their investments support long term success of climate goals and also contribute to justice, resilience, and inclusive decision-making in marine ecosystems. The Brief was produced by the Governing Changing Oceans Working Group. Please cite as: McHugh, L.H., Muir, B., Pradhan, S. K., Ogier, E., Cohen, P.J., Nash, K., Lawless, S., Mangubhai, S., Hilmi, N., Mills, K., Lovelock, C., Niles, N., Mohammed, E., Brown, K., Fairweather Morrison, I., Pecl, G., Adger, N., Gurney, G., Caldwell, M. and Morrison, T.H. (2025). Towards Responsible Investment in Ocean-Based Climate Actions. governingchange.org/ Contact: [email protected]