Marine pollution: €3 billion for the Clean Oceans Initiative 2.0

Summary

At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, the world’s top Development Banks set a new target for 2026-2030 to combat plastic pollution in the seas

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) joins as a new regional partner to boost initiatives in Asia

Key goals include a stronger focus on prevention, the circular economy and the development of sustainable alternatives to plastic Scientific indicators will also be introduced to measure project impact

Three billion euros to save the oceans from pollution. With this new financial commitment, today six Development Banks launched the Clean Oceans Initiative 2.0 (COI 2.0), an expanded, renewed version of the major multilateral alliance created to drastically reduce marine plastic pollution, especially plastic waste.

At the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a new partner, set a new financing target for 2026-2030 under COI 2.0.

According to the United Nations, without a change in course the volume of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems each year could triple by 2040, rising from today’s 11 million tonnes to an estimated 23 to 37 million tonnes annually.

The initiative’s second phase represents the international financial community’s response to this emergency. COI 2.0 will continue to focus on reducing marine waste, increasing its impact by placing greater emphasis on prevention and supporting circular economy solutions, including projects that develop alternatives to plastic. Future goals also include measuring impact using scientifically reliable and easily replicable indicators, especially with respect to preventing plastic pollution.

This new phase will focus primarily on coastal area projects, with particular attention to Asia, Africa and Latin America, where waste and water management in major river basins remains a critical challenge. Asia in particular – the source of a significant share of ocean plastic pollution – will be one of the priority areas for action. The ADB’s entry will help step up projects and actions at the regional level.

Launched in 2018 and extended in 2022, the first phase of the Clean Oceans Initiative achieved major milestones: as of May this year, seven months ahead of schedule, it reached €4 billion in long-term financing for public and private projects aimed at reducing plastic, microplastic, and other marine waste through improved solid waste, wastewater and stormwater¹ management.

Initiatives funded over the first seven years included improved wastewater treatment in Sri Lanka, China, Egypt, and South Africa; solid waste management in Togo and Senegal; and flood protection efforts in Benin, Morocco and Ecuador.

Context
Oceans are vital to life on earth: they provide food, income, regulate the climate and offer natural resources to billions of people. They also absorb about 30% of global carbon dioxide emissions, helping to mitigate climate change.
Plastic pollution threatens marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions of people. Most plastics that end up in the ocean come from poor waste management on land, often carried by rivers due to inadequate collection and treatment systems, especially in rapidly growing cities. Each year approximately 1.5 million tonnes of microplastics end up in the ocean, over 10% of the total.

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¹ Water originating from rain, snow or other forms of precipitation.