Shaping a credible blue finance taxonomy for Indonesia
The challenge
Indonesia’s blue economy contributes US$280 billion annually, more than a quarter of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. This means investing in the ocean is key to Indonesia’s economy, culture and future.
Sustainable blue finance is widely discussed but remains severely limited, with only US$13 billion invested globally in sustainable ocean projects over the past decade – less than 1 per cent of the ocean’s estimated US$1.5 trillion economic value.
A key barrier to scaling investment in the sustainable ocean economy is the lack of clear frameworks defining what qualifies as ‘blue’ and ‘sustainable’ activities, creating uncertainty for financial institutions and investors.
Without credible definitions, there is a risk that activities with limited environmental benefits receive funding, undermining both the impact and integrity of sustainable finance systems.
Indonesia already has an important foundation in its Indonesia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (Taksonomi untuk Keuangan Berkelanjutan Indonesia or TKBI), which financial institutions use to guide sustainable investment decisions.
However, blue economy sectors remain only partially integrated into the TKBI, with version 3 (published in February 2026) incorporating a new fisheries sector. While this is a good start, the TKBI is not yet explicitly designed to address ocean sustainability.
The solution
Integrating blue economy sectors into the TKBI can help bridge financial markets and ocean sectors, enabling investment to flow toward tourism, marine industries, coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and other blue economy sectors.
Based on Climateworks Centre’s sectoral materiality analysis, international taxonomy benchmarking and an assessment of Indonesia’s financial architecture, this report identifies priority sectors, taxonomy design principles and pathways for blue finance taxonomy implementation.
Our findings suggest that three sectors could be prioritised for inclusion in the TKBI: tourism, marine conservation and marine-based industries. These sectors remain underrepresented in the current taxonomy, despite demonstrating moderate economic significance alongside meaningful environmental impact.
Moving forward, policymakers, financial institutions, civil society and development partners can work together to embed blue economy sectors into Indonesia’s sustainable finance system and translate taxonomy guidance into real investment pipelines.
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