Study proposes innovative fund to combat underfunding of ocean-related initiatives
The Ocean Streams for Climate Fund makes it possible to address the gap for protecting coastal and ocean ecosystems, which receive only 2% of global climate funding.
15/10/2025
The oceans' central role in discussions about global climate change is increasingly clear. After all, they are fundamental to the planet's climate balance and essential for vital issues such as food and energy security.
However, despite their importance, marine ecosystems receive less than 2% of global climate finance – a serious discrepancy that demands urgent resolution, especially since most of the countries most vulnerable to climate change are island or coastal nations.
To address this historic underfunding, experts from Route to Belém propose the creation of an innovative financing fund for ocean-related solutions, the Ocean Streams for Climate Fund. Inspired by an endowment model, the OS4C Fund aims to integrate climate adaptation, marine conservation, and social justice, with a permanent financial mechanism and participatory governance to protect coastal and ocean ecosystems.
For Alexandre Castro, a climate adaptation specialist at Route to Belém, biologist and PhD in Ecology, it is essential to position the ocean as a key player in the journey to a sustainable future, and this involves increasing the allocation of climate funds to ocean issues.
"Having only 2% of funds allocated to this cause is incompatible with the oceans' leading role. They are a fundamental pillar in discussions to combat global climate change and in the practices to combat it," says Castro.
To get an idea of the discrepancy in funding, between 2019 and 2020, multilateral funds, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), allocated less than USD 300 million/year to marine projects, in contrast to more than USD 40 billion annually for sectors such as energy and transport.
Castro also emphasizes that just as important as directing more funds toward ocean-related solutions is implementing this funding fairly. "One of the advantages of the Ocean Streams for Climate Fund is that it was designed with the goal of facilitating access to the populations that need it most, strengthening cooperation and creating a new governance model. This means that, for example, a more vulnerable country with fewer resources can access OS4F with less bureaucracy than other funds and also count on technical support from other nations."
OS4F was developed by Castro in co-authorship with Luciano Schweizer, a Partnerships specialist at Route to Belém, who holds a PhD in Production Engineering and has over 30 years of experience in the finance sector, international cooperation and development finance institutions.
"The climate emergency is a complex issue, and I believe we've moved beyond the experimentation phase with one-size-fits-all financial solutions. The oceans are an important economic frontier for humanity's livelihood and, along with forests, are a significant CO2 sink," says Schweizer. "Therefore, we understand that the time for implementing and scaling climate finance demands a dedicated ocean solution that combines the strengths of multilateralism in a single, focused instrument."
The fund's operation is detailed in the Technical Note “Ocean's streams for climate fund: Crossing from Rio-92 to COP30 in Belém”, which can be accessed in full in Portuguese or English .
The study begins by outlining the evolution of the oceans' role in the global climate agenda from Rio-92—when they were recognized as a metaphor for environmental interconnectedness—to COP30, where they were consolidated as a crucial element in solutions to the climate crisis.
This journey between climate conferences reveals the emergence of successive crises (acidification, melting glaciers), but also the recognition of the ocean as an ally capable of storing carbon and protecting coasts. COP30 in Belém is seen as a historic moment, in the heart of the Amazon, symbolizing the interface between forest and ocean.
The Ocean Streams for Climate Fund is an initiative that complements the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF). Its purpose is to mobilize long-term resources to strengthen coastal and marine resilience, protect biodiversity, and support marine-dependent communities, always remembering that forests and oceans go hand in hand as the two ecosystems responsible for the planet's climate. But not only that: they are also responsible for capturing and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The OS4C Fund uses mechanisms such as blue bonds, blended finance , and climate insurance, combined with approaches such as Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) and Community-Based Adaptation (CBA). Funded as an endowment, it guarantees sustainability and predictability , ensuring a permanent source of funding for ocean protection. Brazil, as host of COP30, has a strategic opportunity to lead this agenda.
Learn more about the fund by downloading the full study 'Ocean's streams for climate fund: Crossing from Rio-92 to COP30 in Belém' in Portuguese or English .
