Ocean's future to 2050

A sectoral and regional forecast of the Blue Economy

Spatial competition

In 2050, we forecast that 368,000 km2 of ocean surface will be occupied by infrastructure for the production of energy and food, compared to about 40,000 km2 in 2018. 

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This represents a more than nine-fold increase in demand for ocean space, and hints at the tremendous challenge for Marine Spatial Planning in some parts of the world.  The great majority of the forecasted area occupied will be required for offshore wind production, while marine aquaculture will represent a much smaller footprint. 


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