Blue Economy CoP Advances Regional Cooperation on Sustainable Ports and Ocean Innovation

The IURC Region-to-Region Community of Practice (CoP) on Blue Economy continues to strengthen cooperation between European and international partner regions, focusing on sustainable port transformation, environmental resilience, and maritime innovation.

Recent meetings in February and March 2026 brought together partners from Bremen (Germany), Greater Hobart (Australia), Christchurch (New Zealand), and Central Denmark, confirming strong complementarities across regions and a shared interest in developing joint pilot actions.

From left to right top to bottom: Catalonias Port of Barcelona; Old Town Hall of Bremen; the Klimatorium of Central Denmark; Christchurch New Zealand; Port of Hobart.

Defining common priorities for cooperation

Discussions converged on a set of key thematic areas, including carbon-neutral port transition, water and air quality, port–city integration, maritime mobility, and the social and economic implications of the energy transition.

Participants also agreed on a structured approach to pilot development, combining policy dialogue, innovation pipelines, and concrete demonstration actions such as green port strategies and learning labs.

Catalonia joins through BlueNetCat and strengthens international links

A welcome development is the recent incorporation of Catalonia into the CoP through BlueNetCat, a leading blue economy technology transfer network bringing together 19 research centres and over 1,100 specialists.

Catalonia’s participation reinforces links with Latin America, notably through ongoing cooperation with the Brazilian state of Paraná on marine plastics management, and opens opportunities for joint technical work and pilot development also with Asia and Australasia.

Towards integrated pilots across Europe, Australasia and Latin America

The Asia and Australasia CoP is increasingly exploring synergies beyond its core regions, particularly with IURC Latin America and Caribbean partners.

This includes:

• Potential cooperation on marine plastics currently underway with Catalonia and Paraná in Brasil.
• Exploration of Antarctic and polar dimensions, between Greater Hobart and Christchurch with European and Latin American partners such as Bremen, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) and Magallanes (Chile)

These developments create the basis for integrated, multi-regional pilot projects, increasing the scope and impact of IURC cooperation across continents.

From exchange to implementation

Building on these exchanges, the CoP is moving towards the definition of concrete pilot actions. Identified areas include governance models for port transformation, zero-emission maritime systems, port–city spatial planning, environmental resilience, and circular port economy solutions.

These pilots may support future joint funding applications and contribute to the development of scalable and replicable blue economy solutions.

Next steps and upcoming activities

As part of the next phase of cooperation, the University of Bremen will conduct a visit to Hobart in the third week of March, providing an opportunity for engagement in person and refine pilot concepts.

Follow-up exchanges are also being envisaged through participation in the Gippsland Clean Transition Conference (18–19 August 2026) and the Maritime Hub Conference in Barcelona (third week of November 2026). These milestones will support the transition from concept development to implementation, reinforcing the Blue Economy CoP as a platform for international collaboration on sustainable maritime systems.