In a speech at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde argued that the accelerating degradation of the ocean from climate change creates material economic risks, including potential food security shocks that could translate into more volatile prices. She urged stakeholders to act on two fronts: protect the ocean by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding natural coastal systems, and prepare by accelerating adaptation to climate-related risks that are already materialising. The speech highlighted the ocean’s role as a stabiliser of the climate system, noting that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates it has absorbed over 90% of excess heat and around one third of carbon dioxide emitted since the Industrial Revolution. It also pointed to signs of strain, including record ocean warmth, faster sea-level rise and acidification, with global mean sea level rise increasing from around 2.1 millimetres per year in 1993 to around 4.5 millimetres per year in 2023, and more than 80% of coral reefs affected by bleaching since 2023. Lagarde linked these trends to economic impacts such as fisheries disruption and displacement risk for the more than 600 million people living in coastal areas less than ten metres above sea level, and stressed both engineered and nature-based resilience measures, citing evidence that coral reefs can reduce wave energy by an average of 97%. Financing needs were framed as substantial, with UN assessments cited as placing global adaptation costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually by mid-century, while one study was cited estimating that failing to keep warming below two degrees could lead to USD 14 trillion in annual global flood costs by 2100; the speech called for innovative approaches that convert marine natural capital into financial capital to catalyse conservation and adaptation funding.
European Central Bank 2025-06-07
European Central Bank President Lagarde calls for finance to scale ocean conservation and coastal climate adaptation
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, highlighted economic risks from ocean degradation due to climate change, including food security shocks and price volatility. She urged action to protect the ocean by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing adaptation to climate-related risks. Lagarde emphasized substantial financing needs for adaptation, citing UN assessments and studies on potential flood costs if warming exceeds two degrees.