The Role of Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation and Carbon Stock Conservation

Abstract

The potential for Blue Carbon ecosystems to combat climate change and provide
co-benefits was discussed in the recent and influential Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
In terms of Blue Carbon, the report mainly focused on coastal wetlands and did not
address the socio-economic considerations of using natural ocean systems to reduce
the risks of climate disruption. In this paper, we discuss Blue Carbon resources in coastal,
open-ocean and deep-sea ecosystems and highlight the benefits of measures such as
restoration and creation as well as conservation and protection in helping to unleash their
potential for mitigating climate change risks. We also highlight the challenges—such as
valuation and governance—to marshaling their mitigation role and discuss the need for
policy action for natural capital market development, and for global coordination. Efforts
to identify and resolve these challenges could both maintain and harness the potential for
these natural ocean systems to store carbon and help fight climate change. Conserving,
protecting, and restoring Blue Carbon ecosystems should become an integral part of
mitigation and carbon stock conservation plans at the local, national and global levels

Keywords: natural capital, ecosystem services, mitigation, carbon services valuation, governance, environmental economics

JEL Classification: Q5, Q25, Q51, Q54