The revised Ocean Investment Protocol, published September 21, 2026 by the UN Global Compact and the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative, hosted by UNEP Finance Initiative, extends its recommendations to central banks and financial supervisors for the first time. The update asks them to consider how ocean degradation could affect financial institutions and the wider financial system, building on a protocol originally launched in May 2025.
Produced in collaboration with WWF's Greening Financial Regulation Initiative, the update moves beyond the guidance the Protocol has offered investors, insurers and ocean industries since its original launch. It recommends that financial authorities assess ocean-related exposure, support better risk-assessment tools and set expectations for institutions to address those risks within existing environmental and social risk frameworks.
None of this is mandatory yet. The Protocol does not establish a supervisory requirement, and its publication announcement does not show that any central bank has adopted its recommendations.
Protocol Names Monetary-Policy Portfolios and Collateral Baskets as New Exposure Points
Central banks and supervisors are asked to examine both their own exposure and that of the financial systems they oversee. The Protocol specifically mentions monetary-policy portfolios and collateral baskets, alongside risks held by financial institutions.
It also calls for tools that could help institutions determine the extent of ocean-related risk. That is a substantial measurement challenge. A lender may be able to identify a loan to a port or seafood company, but assessing how that business depends on coastal ecosystems, water quality or marine resources requires more detailed information, a gap similar nature-related risk disclosure frameworks have also had to work through.
Supervisors are also asked to set expectations for financial institutions to integrate ocean-related risks into existing frameworks, without a single prescribed assessment method or timetable. The shift mirrors how water risk has already moved from sustainability reporting into lending and insurance underwriting.
Seafood, Shipping and Offshore Wind Top the Protocol's List of Investable Ocean Sectors
Sustainable seafood, shipping, ports, offshore renewable energy, coastal infrastructure, tourism and nature-based solutions are the areas where the revised Protocol wants to build a stronger pipeline of investable projects, alongside growing corporate investment in coastal ecosystem restoration. For banks financing those activities, its recommendations point toward closer examination of both a project's environmental effects and its dependence on healthy ocean and coastal systems.
Companies face a related request under the guidance. Ocean industries are asked to assess material ocean-related impacts and dependencies, incorporate them into strategy and risk management, and disclose relevant sustainability information. Better company data could make exposure easier for lenders to evaluate, and the Protocol acknowledges the need for more accessible data and common approaches to measurement.
Insurers have a separate role. Using insurance and risk-management tools to support the resilience and investability of ocean industries is one recommendation, including potential participation in blended-finance arrangements.
Guidance Has Yet to Become Supervisory Practice
Taken together, the update signals a broader view of ocean finance. Protecting marine ecosystems is connected to assessing the resilience of businesses and assets that rely on them. Its immediate effect, however, is to add a new set of recommendations rather than a supervisory mandate. The Protocol names improving ocean data and common measurement methods as one of its next priorities, and whether central banks and supervisors act on the guidance will depend on decisions made by individual authorities from here.
