Autumn Budget 2025: Opportunity for ocean regeneration
We look at how the upcoming UK Autumn Budget presents an opportunity to drive ocean regeneration – and the benefits that would bring.
On November 26th 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will unveil the UK Autumn Budget 2025, and it looks set to be a Budget of tax rises. With an estimated £30 billion shortfall in public finances, tough decisions lie ahead. But within this challenge lies a powerful opportunity: to unlock the full potential of ocean regeneration.
Ocean regeneration isn’t just good for nature – it’s a smart economic strategy. With the right support, it can become a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth. Now is the time to keep the pressure on the UK Government to turn this opportunity into action.
How can investment marine regeneration help?
In the context of a challenging budget, where every pound must deliver maximum value, marine regeneration stands out as a high-return investment. It not only restores ecosystems and strengthens climate resilience – it also drives economic growth in coastal communities and beyond.
- It creates high-quality, well-paid jobs in regions that often face economic challenges. These jobs span a wide range of sectors – from construction and engineering to tourism, aquaculture, and environmental monitoring.
- It supports existing industries that rely on healthy seas, like tourism and fishing, while helping new industries, like regenerative aquaculture, emerge in the process. This could support sustainable blue economies regenerating our ocean – if tax breaks are linked to the delivery of sustainability goals.
- It enhances resilience to climate impacts, reducing long-term costs from flooding and coastal erosion.
According to WWF, restoring UK seas could deliver a net economic benefit of £10.1 billion by 2050, with gains increasing over time as ecosystems continue to recover and store more carbon. However, to unlock these benefits, further measures to de-risk and scale up private capital are needed to deliver this at scale.
Seagrass plays a key role in storing carbon
Credit: Sue Burton
Public funding is key – and we already have the mechanisms to deliver it
Over the past year, the Marine Conservation Society has been working with stakeholders in the finance sector to identify the barriers to scaling up private investment in marine regeneration. Our findings are clear: initial public funding is essential to attract and unlock private capital.
Blue bonds could unlock major investment for ocean protection and regeneration. Like the UK’s Green Savings Bonds which raise funds to support NetZero goals, blue bonds would allow governments to channel capital from private investors directly into marine projects.
The Seychelles showed the world that governments can lead the way in financing ocean recovery, and, in 2018, made history by issuing the world’s first sovereign blue bond. This raised $15 million to be channelled directly into marine protection, sustainable fisheries, and coastal communities.
Further investment – both private and public – is needed in marine regeneration projects
Credit: Alison Palmer Hargraves
A Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy – a cost-effective path to growth
There are other things that the UK Government can do to stimulate private investment into a sustainable blue economy in the UK, such as the creation of a Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy, which would serve to reduce uncertainty and ultimately boost confidence for investors. To develop this, the UK Government can draw on success stories from around the world, including Portugal.
If the Chancellor seizes this moment, the Budget could mark a defining step towards a thriving, sustainable blue economy. Investing in ocean regeneration is the smartest economic growth strategy the UK can choose.
