The United Nations Global Compact, UNEP Finance Initiative and WWF have revised the Ocean Investment Protocol (OIP), expanding its guidance beyond banks, insurers and investors to include central banks, financial regulators and supervisors for the first time.

The United Nations Global Compact, the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Greening Financial Regulation Initiative have published a revised Ocean Investment Protocol, broadening the framework for how financial institutions and public financial authorities can address ocean-related risks and investment opportunities.

Originally launched in May 2025, the revised Protocol places greater emphasis on the connection between ocean health and financial stability. Its most notable change is the addition of recommendations for central banks, financial regulators and supervisors, extending the framework beyond financial institutions and ocean-dependent industries.

The shift reflects an expanding view of nature-related risks within financial decision-making. Ocean degradation can affect industries and economies through dependencies involving seafood, shipping, ports, tourism, energy and coastal infrastructure. UNEP FI describes the ocean as supporting 90% of global trade volume and absorbing 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions, underscoring its relevance to the wider economy.

For financial institutions, this creates a risk-management question as much as a sustainability one. Exposure to ocean-dependent businesses can translate environmental degradation into operational, credit, insurance, investment and potentially sovereign risks. The revised Protocol therefore calls for greater use of existing financial and risk-management tools to account for dependencies on healthy marine ecosystems.

The framework covers financial institutions, insurers, ocean industries, governments and development finance institutions, while the new recommendations target public financial authorities. According to the UN Global Compact, these authorities can incorporate ocean-related risks and opportunities into financial-stability assessments, supervisory approaches, sustainable-finance frameworks and risk-management practices.

That regulatory dimension is increasingly relevant as financial supervisors expand their focus on climate and nature-related risks. UNEP FI’s broader nature-finance work similarly focuses on helping banks and insurers understand and manage nature-related dependencies, risks and opportunities.

The Protocol also addresses the supply side of sustainable finance. It calls for a stronger pipeline of investable projects across sustainable seafood, shipping, ports, offshore renewable energy, coastal infrastructure, tourism, conservation and nature-based solutions.

This is important because identifying environmental risk does not automatically create investable opportunities. Banks, asset managers, insurers and development finance institutions need projects with sufficient data, measurable outcomes, credible risk profiles and appropriate financing structures before capital can be deployed at scale.

Data is consequently another major component of the revised framework. The Protocol highlights accessible and reliable ocean data, common measurement methodologies and greater ocean literacy across the financial system. These requirements mirror a broader challenge in sustainable finance: financial institutions need comparable information to translate environmental dependencies into conventional assessments of credit, investment and portfolio risk.

The revised Protocol also emphasizes the role of public policy and market infrastructure. Coherent regulation, standards and public finance can help create conditions for private investment, particularly in sectors where projects have long development cycles or where environmental benefits are difficult to capture through conventional commercial models.

For banks and investors, the framework potentially connects sustainable finance, nature-related risk management and blue finance more directly. UNEP FI’s Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative already provides principles and guidance intended to align investment, lending and underwriting with ocean health. The revised OIP adds another layer by focusing on how the broader financial system can recognize ocean-related dependencies and direct capital accordingly.

The Protocol is also part of a wider development of blue-finance infrastructure. UNEP FI has identified instruments including blue bonds and public-private financing mechanisms as part of efforts to increase funding for ocean protection and sustainable economic activity. Its 2026 nature-finance agenda points to expanding opportunities for blended and private finance alongside the development of frameworks for sustainable ocean investment.

For financial technology providers, the framework could eventually increase demand for systems capable of integrating environmental and nature-related information into financial workflows. That could include portfolio analytics, risk assessment, sustainability reporting, data platforms, investment screening and insurance underwriting tools.

However, the Protocol itself is a guidance framework rather than a new regulatory requirement. Its impact will depend on how financial institutions, regulators and governments adopt and operationalize its recommendations across different jurisdictions.

The revised OIP therefore represents a broader evolution in sustainable finance: ocean health is being framed not only as an environmental concern but also as a consideration for financial risk, capital allocation and economic resilience.

By bringing central banks and supervisors into the framework, the updated Protocol extends the conversation from individual investment decisions toward the architecture of the financial system itself.

Market Landscape

The revised Protocol arrives as nature-related financial risk becomes more closely connected with mainstream risk management. The ocean supports major economic sectors, while degradation can create dependencies and exposures that extend into lending, insurance, investment and sovereign risk.

UNEP FI says its network includes 550+ members representing more than $170 trillion, providing a substantial financial-sector audience for sustainable-finance frameworks.

The blue-finance market is also developing around instruments and frameworks intended to channel capital toward sustainable ocean activities. The OIP complements those efforts by focusing on risk assessment, investment decision-making, data and the enabling regulatory environment.

For financial technology companies, this creates potential demand for data and analytics infrastructure capable of translating ocean and nature indicators into conventional financial metrics.

Top Insights

• The revised Ocean Investment Protocol adds recommendations for central banks, financial regulators and supervisors for the first time.
• The framework treats ocean degradation as a potential financial and economic risk, not solely an environmental challenge.
• Sustainable seafood, shipping, ports, offshore renewable energy and coastal infrastructure are among targeted investment areas.
• Better ocean data, measurement methodologies and financial-sector literacy are identified as requirements for stronger decision-making.
• The Protocol complements the wider growth of blue finance, nature-risk management and sustainable investment frameworks.

Get in touch with our fintech expert