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Blue Carbon explainer – EnviroStrat ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue Economy

Blue Carbon explainer – EnviroStrat

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…
Alison Smith
April 30, 2026

Turning possibility into practice has shaped everything we do. Much of our focus has been on activating new revenue streams and attracting investment to deal with large and often seemingly unsolvable environmental challenges. We are grateful for our advisory clients and the investors and collaborators in our impact ventures returning and new – for trusting us to design and deploy approaches that value ecosystem services, co design interventions for freshwater, ocean, and land-based ecosystems, and grounded approaches to adaptation and resilience, risk mitigation, and regeneration.

Dr Nigel Bradly
A win for the planet? Or just another cop-out? Takeaways from COP30’s final week. Credits: Ueslei Marcelino/COP30 ClimateGovernmentIn The NewsOur Thinking

A win for the planet? Or just another cop-out? Takeaways from COP30’s final week.

As the final hours close on COP30 in Belem, Brazil, tensions and temperatures (literally) have been rising. The second week of discussions in ‘the gateway to the Amazon’ saw parties stuck in a deadlock over fossil fuels, a fire spread across the blue zone, an Indigenous blockade, and arguments over the future of deforestation. This COP has been filled with symbolism. The conference ended in the early hours of Saturday morning with a contentious final deal that, for many, fell short of expectations. Participants have expressed frustration at COP President André Corrêa do Lago and how the meetings have been…
EnviroStrat
November 24, 2025
COP30 Week One Update with Natasha Jacobs Amazon Rainforest photo by Vlad Hilitanu on Unsplash ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue EconomyIn The NewsOur Thinking

COP30 Week One Update with Natasha Jacobs

Natasha Jacobs gives us the Week One COP update  It’s been a big week for Belem, host city for COP30. Delegations from 194 countries, activists, and over 4000 members of the media have descended on the ‘capital of the Amazon’ to discuss global action on climate change. The US made a historic no-show for the first time in COP history. New Zealand has a total of 79 registered attendees, Australia 494 and the UK 210.   The big-ticket item, and a central point of discussion this week has been the Baku to Belem roadmap, a paper that aims to outline how climate finance could be scaled up…
EnviroStrat
November 17, 2025
Countdown to COP30 – What to Watch ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue Economy

Countdown to COP30 – What to Watch

Photo: Jeremy Bishop/Unsplash By Natasha Jacobs COP30 is less than a week away, and as always, a lot is already at stake. COP stands for Conference of Parties and is a global summit for partis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assess progress towards action on climate change. Specifically, the COP is also a space to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding treaty for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce global temperatures to ‘well below 2 °C’.   This year is the conference’s…
EnviroStrat
November 5, 2025

Like most regions, ASEAN countries face more extreme weather patterns, so riverbased systems must cope to ensure people are safe and thriving, alongside productive landscapes.

Ross Abercrombie, EnviroStrat.

Now is the time to support and scale what works and ensure finance flows to where it can drive real, lasting impact.

Natasha Jacobs
A New Tool for Nature: NZ Government to Launch Voluntary Nature Credits Market Principles ClimateIn The NewsLand & Water ManagementOur Thinking

A New Tool for Nature: NZ Government to Launch Voluntary Nature Credits Market Principles

The New Zealand Government is expected to release a set of high-level principles for a voluntary biodiversity credit market during National Fieldays. Associate Environment Minister Hon Andrew Hoggard told Parliament last month that this work would be tested via pilot projects, and he discussed the potential for farmers’ creating benefits for biodiversity and for their businesses. “I see as a particularly beneficial project that will help out our farmers quite considerably and other landowners who have native bush on their farms or land and, basically, give them a carrot, as opposed to the stick approach, of "Here is an incentive…
EnviroStrat
June 18, 2025
Nature Credit Markets: A Growing Solution for Biodiversity and Climate Goals ClimateStrategy, Research & Analysis

Nature Credit Markets: A Growing Solution for Biodiversity and Climate Goals

EnviroStrat Explainer:?? Nature Credit markets?    Q What are nature credit markets??  Nature credit markets enable the trade of credits representing efforts to conserve or restore ecosystems. Buyers—such as corporations, governments, or investors—purchase credits to meet environmental goals, improve their sustainability credentials, or fulfill regulatory requirements.??  There are several options, including nutrient reduction, plastic reduction, water quality improvements, biodiversity, or carbon. At a high level, credits can be nature-specific or nature-related carbon. The former is linked to ecosystem services, while the latter is associated with carbon sequestration.??  Carbon Credits: Focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.?  Biodiversity Credits: Emphasize measurable improvements…
EnviroStrat
June 16, 2025
Supporting youth impact in marine conservation and restoration work ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue EconomyIn The NewsLand & Water Management

Supporting youth impact in marine conservation and restoration work

At Moana Auckland Sustainability Expo in New Zealand, EnviroStrat Sustainability Director Cerasela Stancu presented on the opportunity for new finance tools to capture value from conservation and restoration work. EnviroStrat has created impact ventures focused on the blue economy, including growing native New Zealand seaweed to create a sustainable supply chain, restoring areas of reef ecosystem and exploring how scallops can be grown in an aquaculture setting. In 2022, activities that use ocean resources contributed more than $10 billion to the New Zealand economy (3.9% of GDP). However, if the sector moved to more sustainable practices, that figure could increase to…
EnviroStrat
May 22, 2025