Just 100 companies account for most of the profits from the world鈥檚 seas, researchers said on Wednesday, calling on them to help save the oceans from over-fishing, rising temperatures, and pollution.
Together, the companies generated $1.1 trillion in revenues in 2018, or about 60% of the total, according to a study that sets out for the first time which firms profit the most from marine industries.
Oceans play a critical role in capturing planet-warming gases, absorbing around 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions. But environmentalists say much more needs to be done to protect them.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much talk about the need for sustainable oceans鈥 but there鈥檚 very rarely a conversation about who it is that needs to do the job,鈥 said Henrik Osterblom, who co-authored the paper published in the journal Science Advances.
鈥淲e have identified who has power to influence the future of the oceans,鈥 Mr. Osterblom, science director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
鈥淛ust knowing who they are is the first step in getting them involved in what needs to be done.鈥
The team of researchers including Mr. Osterblom and environmental experts at Duke University in the United States focused on eight sea-based industries ranging from container shipping to seafood production and offshore wind.
The 鈥淥cean 100鈥 list was topped by offshore oil and gas giants including Saudi Aramco and Brazil鈥檚 Petrobras, with only one firm from outside the industry, Danish shipping company A.P. Moeller-Maersk, making the top 10.
It could help inform government policies as well as direct environmental groups seeking to push business towards greener practices, Mr. Osterblom said.
鈥淥ne of our biggest challenges is to sustain healthy ocean ecosystems as economic use increases and climate impacts accelerate,鈥 said Daniel Vermeer, director of Duke University鈥檚 Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment.
鈥淭his study confirms that a relatively small number of companies will be central to this challenge, and have a real opportunity for leadership.鈥 鈥 Umberto Bacchi/Thomson Reuters Foundation
