Blue Carbon

Definition

“Blue Carbon refers to carbon captured by ocean and coastal ecosystems. Such ecosystems include seagrasses, mangroves and salt marshes. They are known to act as natural carbon sinks, reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by storing carbon at a much faster rate than forests and holding it for thousands of years.”

Source: NOAA

Explainer

Besides capturing and sequestering carbon, coastal blue carbon ecosystems play a crucial role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. They offer protection from storms and rising sea levels, prevent shoreline erosion, regulate water quality, provide habitats for aquatic species and support food security for coastal communities. However, these ecosystems are highly threatened: It is believed that roughly ⅓ of seagrass meadows and tidal marshes and ⅔ of the world’s mangroves have been lost. As these blue carbon ecosystems degrade, not only are their future carbon capture and climate adaptation potentials lost, but the enormous amounts of carbon that they have been storing are then released into the atmosphere.