A side event « Blue Finance and Innovation » took place on November 3, 2026 at the John E. St. Luce Finance and Conference Centre at the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The side event focused on accelerating investment and innovation for the restoration, conservation and sustainable use of oceans.
As one of only four official parallel events of CHOGM, it brought together heads of government, ministers, investors, innovators and senior ocean officials from across the 56-member Commonwealth. The event responds to the Oceanic Declaration of the Commonwealth of Apia, 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 an important interest in the health of the oceans. Member countries are responsible for one-third of the world’s oceans under national jurisdiction, comprise 45% of the world’s coral reefs, and encompass 25 small island developing states (ESPs). In this context, the event raised awareness of blue finance, demonstrating emerging technologies and connecting governments, investors and innovators to unleash increased ocean investment.
Highlight oceanic innovation and blue finance in action
Image
The program was organized around three focused components. The Ocean Innovation Showcase brought together about 20 companies and organizations working on practical solutions, as well as images from the Waves of Change Commonwealth Youth Photography Competition. The exhibitions included coral restoration, mangrove and biodiversity initiatives, seabed and blue carbon mapping, knowledge of the maritime domain, remote drone mapping, as well as technologies transforming sargassum into biofuel or biogas.
The second session, Blue Finance in Action, was inaugurated by a panel on the mobilization of finance to protect the oceans. Speakers included leaders of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, the Ocean Risk and Resilience Ocean Action Alliance, the Stimson Center and the CAF-Latin American and Caribbean Development Bank. The session also saw the launch of three publications: Sea Level Rise, The Commonwealth Oceanic Declaration of Apia: Provisional Report on High-Level Progress, and the Commonwealth: Impacts, Risks and Responses as well as a policy summary of the Association of Commonwealth Universities on blue finance.
The last segment, Defending Ocean Action, brought together senior political and industrial leaders to discuss ecological maritime transport and the promotion of the financing of blue funds to conserve the ocean.
Contributions from leaders such as the Minister of Agriculture, Land, Fisheries and Blue Economy of Antigua and Barbuda, the programs of the Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, the Chief Minister for the Seychelles, the Oceanic envoy of Canada and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the most honorable Gaston Browne, reinforcing the role of Antigua and Barbuda in calling for international action for a more resilient and sustainable oceanic economy.
