Clarifying the role of inorganic carbon in blue carbon policy and practice

W.R. Turrell*, W.E.N. Austin, S.P. Philbrick, C. Tilbrook, H. Kennedy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Since the term “blue carbon” was coined by the report of Nellerman et al. (2009) the marine carbon cycle has firmly entered the realm of marine policy alongside its terrestrial neighbour, “green carbon” (Crooks et al., 2018). Many marine policy decisions rely on accurate information concerning the stocks of blue carbon in a region, the annual sequestration rates associated with those stocks and the threats posed to those stocks by human activities, and especially recently by bottom-trawling (e.g., Sala et al., 2021). Hence policy officials are reliant on accurate blue carbon scientific advice. However, at the present moment there is one topic that is contributing confusion to policy-science understanding, and that is the topic of organic vs. inorganic carbon. The aim of this short note is to clarify the differences between these two types of blue carbon and to recommend how they are treated in policy formulation and the provision of scientific advice.
Original languageEnglish
Article number105873
Number of pages5
JournalMarine Policy
Volume157
Early online date4 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • Blue carbon
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Policy formulation
  • Marine protection
  • Nature based solution

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