Turning the Tide A Financier's Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems 2026

The momentum to scale financing for blue carbon ecosystems is accelerating across coalitions, philanthropy, corporates, governments and private investors. Cross-sector platforms such as the Mangrove Breakthrough have mobilized global endorsement to channel billions towards large- scale mangrove protection and restoration by 2030, bringing together governments, financial institutions and community implementers around shared targets.10 Similarly, the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, launched at the 2023 climate conference COP28 with substantial initial commitments to advance ocean-based climate solutions – including blue carbon restoration – has rapidly expanded its funding base.11 Non-governmental and philanthropic organizations continue to play a catalytic role in project development, technical assistance and early- stage risk reduction. Organizations including Rare,12 The Nature Conservancy,13 Wetlands International,14 World Wildlife Fund15 and Conservation International16 are advancing field- level implementation and pipeline development. Philanthropic actors such as the UBS Optimus Foundation’s UBS Climate Collective17 and the Moore Foundation18 are supporting targeted initiatives that strengthen data, traceability and sustainable aquaculture practices linked to blue carbon ecosystems. Corporate participation is also strengthening demand signals and capital deployment. Salesforce has committed commercial capital to purchase significant volumes of blue carbon credits,19 while the Symbiosis Coalition is pooling corporate capital to create predictable demand for high-quality nature-based carbon removal projects.20 These commitments help reduce early-stage risk and improve project bankability.Governments and multilateral institutions are expanding dedicated facilities and blended finance platforms. Initiatives such as the Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility, the Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund, the United Kingdom’s COAST Facility,21 and the Blue Action Fund22 are channelling public and concessional capital towards marine conservation, climate adaptation and sustainable coastal livelihoods, often in partnership with development finance institutions and implementing agencies. Private investors are increasingly structuring vehicles that link conservation outcomes with commercial returns. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs23 combines a grant fund and an investment fund to reduce stressors on coastal habitats, while Oceans Finance Company has demonstrated innovative structuring through sovereign debt- for-nature swaps that finance long-term marine protection.24 The Outrigger Impact Fund further illustrates growing appetite for debt and equity investments in blue economy projects, particularly in Small Island Developing States, supported by development finance partners.25 However, finance is not currently flowing at either the pace or the scale that is required to both protect standing blue carbon ecosystems from the myriad threats they face and to restore the blue carbon ecosystems that have already been lost. Further, while public, concessional and philanthropic finance remain critical for creating the enabling conditions for investment and de-risking transactions – particularly early in the project life cycle – commercial finance is critical to investments in blue carbon ecosystem conservation and to making restoration a scalable investment theme.1.1 Growing momentum for financing blue carbon ecosystems Through a series of regional and global consultations with over 40 experts, the Forum has identified four financing avenues that show significant potential to unlock large-scale private investment into projects and enterprises that support the conservation and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems: credit markets, supply chains, infrastructure and insurance. These present clear opportunities for private participation and offer pathways to integrate blue carbon ecosystems into existing financial products, portfolios and risk management frameworks. Across these four financing avenues, there are three inter-related but distinct roles that financiers can play in scaling private finance flows.1.2 Avenues for scaling private finance and the cross-cutting role for financial institutions Turning the Tide: A Financier’s Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems 6