About the action

About the action

Description

The COST Action “Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-ecological impacts and opportunities” (RethinkBlue) centres around the Blue Economy and related policies affecting European societies.

The COST Action “Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-ecological impacts and opportunities” (RethinkBlue) centres around the Blue Economy and related policies affecting European societies. After the term was introduced at the UN Rio+20 conference, the paradigm was adopted by various actors across Europe and beyond. In the EU, the Blue Economy paradigm involves regional and national political-economic priorities, new legislative and governance frameworks, and EU and national financial support for sectors of the marine economy.

However, the impact of these policies on coastal populations are not yet well-understood. Accelerating globalisation, technological developments and the impact of climate change pose additional challenges.

Action Keywords

Objectives

The purpose of this Action is to rethink the Blue Economy, in two ways. First, by assessing its impact on coastal societies, and second, by exploring opportunities deriving from innovations and potential synergies between established and emergent marine activities.

sea
What are the impacts, positive or negative, of Blue Economy developments on human well-being, social equity and the economic and environmental sustainability of coastal societies?
01.
What are potential opportunities for innovations and synergies between sectors?
02.

Background

After the term ‘Blue Economy’ was introduced at the UN Rio+20 conference, the paradigm was adopted by various actors across Europe and beyond. In the EU, the Blue Economy paradigm involves regional and national political-economic priorities, new legislative and governance frameworks, and EU and national financial support for sectors of the marine economy.

However, the impact of these policies on coastal populations are not yet well-understood. Accelerating globalisation, technological developments and the impact of climate change pose additional challenges.