From our EnviroStrat Explainer series, we talk about Blue Carbon.
Q – What is blue carbon?
A – Blue carbon is the carbon sequestered in coastal and marine ecosystems. These ecosystems commonly include mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. You may have heard about soil storing carbon, and blue carbon is the coastal and oceanic equivalent of this.
Q – What work has EnviroStrat been doing in this area?
A – Among our clients are The World Bank. The World Bank’s first-of-its-kind blue carbon readiness framework empowers governments to tap into their full blue carbon potential to benefit people and the planet, and EnviroStrat has supported the development of The World Bank Investment Readiness Framework for Governments.
This tool helps governments invest in blue carbon to deliver real and scalable impact for their communities and economies and help meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Q – Do we have a monetary figure globally of the value of Blue Carbon Ecosystems?
A – According to Unlocking Blue Carbon Development: Investment Readiness Framework for Governments, carbon sequestration and storage – expressed in a dollar figure – by mangrove, salt marsh, kelp beds and seagrass ecosystems has been valued at roughly US$ 190 billion per year (about $580 per person in the US) in terms of global blue carbon wealth. Of course, these ecosystems help humanity and the planet in many other ways; from a human point of view, that includes flood protection to fish nurseries.
A key recommendation from the report is to leverage partnerships between governments, the private sector, international financing institutions, and philanthropic organisations to help address the systemic risks stemming from Blue Carbon Ecosystem loss and influence global agendas.
Q – Is there a global standard for blue carbon?
A – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is continuing to do work that relates to blue carbon and to help protect coastal wetlands and marine and ocean ecosystems. The good news is that many countries are working together to strengthen these UNFCC mechanisms, to promote blue carbon conservation and incentivise the restoration and protection of these carbon sinks.
Q – Is this an effective way to achieve what we need to do as a species – including for countries less able to afford restoration?
A – We know from decades of experience that emerging and industrialised countries are effectively restoring and conserving these special ecosystems. Helping these nations pay for the cost of these efforts requires finance – and blue carbon credit markets are one source of this.
