The Seaweed Breakthrough initiative is a global initiative aimed to protect seaweeds through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2030 Breakthrough Agenda. The initiative is designed to catalyse urgent action to conserve, restore, and sustainably manage seaweed ecosystems while securing the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Seaweeds (red, green, and brown algae) are foundational to marine ecosystems, providing habitat, supporting fisheries, sustaining biodiversity, and underpinning food security and livelihoods for over 6 million people globally. They form one of the largest vegetated marine habitats—potentially rivalling the Amazon rainforest in extent—and play critical roles in nutrient cycling, carbon dynamics, and coastal resilience. Despite their importance, seaweed ecosystems are rapidly declining due to climate change, pollution, overexploitation, and weak policy integration.

The initiative establishes five ambitious, science-based goals with measurable targets:

• Goal 1. Halt loss: Reduce loss of seaweed habitats driven by direct and indirect human actions by 70% from a known baseline by 2030 and to 0% by 2040.
• Goal 2. Protect and conserve: Increase long-term protection of seaweed habitats by 30% by 2030. Achieve 100% protection by 2040.
• Goal 3. Restore seaweed ecosystems: Restore seaweed habitats, where possible, to cover areas of loss by 30% by 2030, 50% by 2040 and 100% by 2050.
• Goal 4. Secure resilient and equitable livelihoods: Secure resilient, equitable and sustainable livelihoods for many millions of seaweed-related farmers and other stakeholders globally by 2030.
• Goal 5. Secure sustainable financing for seaweed protection and restoration: Secure investments of at least $17.5 billion USD ($4.4 billion USD year-1) by 2030 to conserve, protect and restore seaweed habitats.