A ‘Blue Finance and Innovation’ side event took place on 3 November 2026 at the John E. St. Luce Finance and Conference Centre during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The side event focused on accelerating investment and innovation for ocean restoration, conservation and sustainable use.
As one of only four official CHOGM side events, it drew Heads of Government, ministers, investors, innovators and senior ocean leaders from across the 56-member Commonwealth. The event responds to the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, adopted in Samoa at CHOGM 2024, which warns of the global emergency facing the ocean and calls for stronger action to restore, protect and use it sustainably.
The Commonwealth has a significant stake in ocean health. Member countries are responsible for a third of the world’s ocean under national jurisdiction, include 45 per cent of global coral reefs, and encompass 25 Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Against this backdrop, the event raised awareness of blue finance, demonstrating emerging technologies and connecting governments, investors and innovators to unlock greater ocean investment.
Showcasing ocean innovation and Blue Finance in action
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The programme was organised around three strands. The Ocean Innovation Showcase featured approximately 20 companies and organisations working on practical solutions, alongside images from the Waves of Change Commonwealth Youth Photography Competition. Exhibits included coral restoration, mangrove and biodiversity initiatives, seabed and blue-carbon mapping, maritime domain awareness, drone-based remote mapping, and technologies that convert sargassum into biofuel or biogas.
The second session, Blue Finance in Action, opened with a panel on scaling finance to protect oceans. Speakers included leaders from the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, Ocean Risk and Resilience Ocean Action Alliance, the Stimson Center and CAF–Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. The session also saw the launch of three publications: Sea-Level Rise, The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration: Interim High-level Progress Report, and the Commonwealth: Impacts, Risks and Responses and an Association of Commonwealth Universities policy brief on blue finance.
The final segment, Championing Ocean Action, brought together senior political and industry figures to discuss green shipping and boosting blue finance to conserve the ocean.
Contributions from leaders including Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and the Blue Economy, the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Programmes, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, Principal Minister for Seychelles, Canada’s Ocean Envoy and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Rt Hon Gaston Browne, reinforcing Antigua and Barbuda’s role in convening international action on a more resilient and sustainable ocean economy.
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Read the The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration
Read the Commonwealth Case Studies on Sea Level Rise publication
Read Deputy Secretary-General (Programmes) Amb Tanmaya Lal's speech
