Balancing ocean health and economic growth: The role of sustainability metrics in the EU

The EU’s Blue Growth Strategy emphasises leadership in blue energy and progress in sectors such as aquaculture and blue biotechnology. However, challenges remain in accounting for marine ecosystem contributions and assessing the degree of inclusive blue growth. This column distinguishes between weak sustainability, which allows for trade-offs between dimensions of blue growth, and strong sustainability, which emphasises balance across dimensions. Obstacles to blue growth include insufficient economic growth in blue economy sectors and environmental problems like eutrophication. Future efforts should target such specific problems while supporting promising blue economy innovations.