Navigating tensions and trade-offs in shaping sustainable ocean futures

Abstract

Sustainability futures are characterised by uncertainty, competing priorities and resource conflicts. Interventions aimed at realising these futures are often presented as ‘triple-win’ solutions, delivering climate mitigation, enabling economic growth, and sustaining coastal livelihoods. However, their implementation reveals tensions that challenge linear models of sustainable growth. This study critically examines both the opportunities and the tensions of scaling two sustainability solutions in coastal and marine contexts to achieve SDG 14. It draws on empirical data from three workshops involving scientists and stakeholders across European maritime regions of the SEA-EU alliance to investigate how the participants navigate through the tensions towards realising sustainable futures and the trade-offs involved. The findings highlight both opportunities for co-benefits and trade-offs between ecological protection and economic imperatives, as well as between innovation and traditional practices. The study offers insights for policy and practice on realising sustainability futures in marine and coastal contexts marked by competing economic interests, power dynamics, and diverse societal values.