Marine energy: Harnessing the power of the Atlantic

Following a decade-long partnership, the Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council have joined forces around a new program focused on the power of the Atlantic. This series of publications and webinars will focus both on opportunities and challenges around the basin. This brief, the inaugural of the series, by William Yancey Brown highlights the vast energy and mineral potential of the Atlantic Ocean and how African nations bordering the basin can manage resources responsibly and fairly. It launches against a backdrop that includes World Ocean Day, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, and the continuing work of the Group of Twenty (under South Africa’s presidency) within the Oceans 20 engagement group. The Atlantic Ocean is of paramount importance to Africa. The African nations on the ocean’s shore represent 46 percent of the continent’s population, 55 percent of its gross domestic product, and 57 percent its trade. The blue economy is crucial for Africa as the continent’s economies see new changes brought upon by issues related to the maritime energy transition, the port revolution, maritime transport, fishing, and control over exclusive economic zones. African countries have accordingly developed frameworks, through the African Union, for action in the region and declared 2015-2025 the “Decade of Africa’s Seas and Oceans.” By bridging knowledge, finance, and governance gaps, this policy brief seeks to inform national and regional strategies that can strengthen resilience, protect livelihoods, and uphold climate justice in the face of accelerating climate threats.