#IESTurningtheTide: Systems thinking for a sustainable ocean – Blue Carbon wrap-up

• Blue Carbon: The role of coastal ecosystems in climate change mitigation
• Coastal wetland restoration: Exploring carbon sequestration and accounting

There are still many uncertainties surrounding blue carbon habitats and their ability to sequester carbon. The UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership has highlighted key areas where more research and evidence is needed. However, given the timescales at which blue carbon solutions need to be unlocked and scaled up, we must focus on gathering evidence through trials and practice.  

Pioneer projects are needed to test out new approaches and determine new restoration methods, measure how well they respond to climate pressures, and determine the carbon sink potential of new and emerging blue carbon habitats. Uncertainty still exists around the offset potential of blue carbon habitats and case study examples will be important for elucidating best practice and sharing what works and what doesn't. Creating opportunities for collaboration and discussion will also be key to support dissemination of findings and drive new partnerships.  

It was widely agreed that the definition of blue carbon can be too narrow and should be expanded to include other important habitats such as kelp forests, oyster beds, and biogenic sediments which facilitate carbon sequestration. It is vital that blue carbon habitats are not seen purely as carbon sinks but are recognised for the multiple ecosystem services they provide. Widening out the definition of blue carbon will also serve to ensure that blue carbon habitats are not considered in isolation from the wider coastal and marine environments in which they sit – a systems view is essential for the effective management, conservation, and restoration of blue carbon habitats to support effective climate mitigation.  

A systems-based approach to managing blue carbon will also allow for a wider understanding of how broader ecosystem health impacts carbon sequestration of blue carbon habitats, for example water quality and land use can negatively impact blue carbon environments. Reports have shown that improved water quality following the adoption of the Water Framework Directive has led to some seagrass habitats in the UK starting to regenerate. Considering the land-sea interface is therefore important for overall management of coastal and marine habitats. Determining the underlying factors that influence the health of blue carbon habitats is dependent on interdisciplinarity and understanding the interconnectivity of these habitats to the wider environment.  

Interdisciplinarity will also be important to support the management and restoration of blue carbon habitats that also benefits local communities and other key stakeholders.  

Private investment will be an important factor for scaling up blue carbon solutions. Addressing some of the uncertainties around the evidence base will be important for catalysing this, by reducing uncertainty of financial returns. Exploring different financial mechanisms will be important to reducing investor uncertainty and risk. Moreover, current difficulties in licensing will need to be addressed to limit delays and barriers to new projects. 

This is strongly linked to how the ecosystem services that blue carbon habitats provide are valued. Considering blue carbon habitats purely from a carbon market perspective can be limiting and doesn’t recognise the other potential benefits. Nature credits and resilience credits can provide a more holistic view, and moving towards a natural capital approach could provide a better reflection of the true value of blue carbon habitats. This in itself can add further complications when considering financial returns for investors and relies on a more nuanced view of value.  

Given the current low price of carbon, it will be important to consider the other benefits that these habitats can provide and the potential for landowners to stack benefits, such as both carbon and biodiversity credits.  

When assessing the ability of blue carbon habitats to sequester carbon and provide other ecosystems services, it is essential that research is done to determine their resilience and ability to function in future climate scenarios. Coastal blue carbon habitats are especially vulnerable to climate impacts like sea level rise, and therefore the permanence of managed and restored blue carbon habitats must be considered. The spatial and temporal components of blue carbon habitats should be investigated to ensure longevity of the ecosystem services they provide and their resilience to land use change.

Fostering ocean and carbon literacy will be of paramount importance to support the partnerships between scientists, private investors, policymakers, and local communities that will be needed to support blue carbon objectives. Given the broad range of stakeholders involved in marine and coastal habitats, a cross-sectoral view will be needed to identify opportunities and overcome barriers.  

Engaging with local communities and helping them to understand the multiple benefits that blue carbon habitats provide beyond carbon sequestration, such as coastal flood defence and improved biodiversity, will be important to creating community buy-in.  

Marine and coastal science sits within a complex legislative and regulatory ecosystem and the jargon surrounding marine and coastal management can be opaque for many stakeholders. Education initiatives must focus therefore on establishing a common understanding across stakeholders to allow meaningful engagement and partnership with blue carbon initiatives.  

Understanding the motivations of potential investors of blue carbon initiatives will be an important piece of the puzzle for bridging the funding gap and would provide important insights into how further investment could potentially be leveraged.