Financing marine restoration through offshore wind investments
van Sluis, C.; van Onselen, E.; Airoldi, L.; Duarte, C.M.; van Rijswick, H.F.M.W.; van der Heide, T.; Olie, R.; Kelder, M.; Bouma, T. (2025). Financing marine restoration through offshore wind investments. BioScience 75(10): 856-864. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf092
In: BioScience. American Institute of Biological Sciences: Washington, D.C.. ISSN 0006-3568; e-ISSN 1525-3244, more
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| Author keywords |
ecology; sustainability; policy/ethics; aquatic ecosystems; conservation |
| Authors | | Top |
- van Sluis, C., more
- van Onselen, E.
- Airoldi, L., more
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- Duarte, C.M.
- van Rijswick, H.F.M.W.
- van der Heide, T., more
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- Olie, R.
- Kelder, M.
- Bouma, T., more
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| Abstract |
Offshore wind farms (OWFs) are proliferating globally across marine ecosystems. We argue that alongside traditional avoidance, mitigation, compensation, and offsetting measures to reduce project-level OWF impacts, allocating a small percentage of OWF investments to marine restoration as a licensing fee for using marine space would catalyze large-scale marine restoration. This involves establishing large marine-protected areas and implementing active ecosystem restoration to help recover key habitats and species. Allocating just 1%–5% of the projected US$6 trillion global offshore wind farm investments by 2050 to marine conservation and restoration could have a powerful impact, creating a historic opportunity to achieve biodiversity goals on time. |
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