In May 2021, the IUCN’s Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation released their “Manual for the Creation of Blue Carbon Projects in Europe and the Mediterranean”. This document provides guidance for developing projects which utilise carbon finance to enhance, protect and develop seagrass and coastal wetland ecosystems for climate change mitigation and adaptation, specifically in Europe and the Mediterranean region.

HAMERKOP’s Director Olivier Levallois was the primary contributor to the manual’s chapters 2, 3 and 4, which detail the policies and new mechanisms for carbon management; carbon project eligibility; and the certification process. This blog post will introduce you to blue carbon and provide an overview of some of the topics covered in these chapters.

Coastal blue carbon is defined as the organic carbon stored in ecosystems from the coastal or near-coastal zone and includes mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes. Certified blue carbon offsetting projects have traditionally been associated with tropical environments and, more specifically, mangrove forests. However, with the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, there is significant potential for certification under voluntary carbon standards to support the development of blue carbon projects in Europe and the Mediterranean.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in Nature Based Solutions (NbS), notably tree planting; afforestation; reforestation and land management. Whilst this term also includes blue carbon, discussions around NbS are often dominated by forestry projects. Even though they are not as well known or as well developed in the carbon markets as forestry projects, seagrass, salt marshes and mangroves all have significantly higher carbon storage potential per hectare than both boreal and tropical forests, as 95% of their carbon is stored in the soil[1]. Therefore, the funding of their protection, restoration and creation raises an opportunity for organisations who are willing to balance out their emissions.

Blue Carbon Ecosystems

Coastal blue carbon ecosystems in Europe and the Mediterranean basin are primarily comprised of seagrass meadows and salt marshes. Seagrass meadows are found across the Mediterranean and North Atlantic and have been identified as important sinks which bury organic carbon. The species Posidonia oceanica is the most abundant and widespread in the Mediterranean and has the carbon storage potential of a substantial 1,500 tonnes of CO2e per hectare[2].

The loss of seagrass in Europe and the Mediterranean can be attributed to both direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts. These include poor water quality and mechanical erosion (trawling and anchoring); burial of the seagrass caused by the construction of new coastal defences and infrastructure; and storms and marine heatwaves which significantly impact the stability of these ecosystems.

Salt marshes are found primarily on the fringes of estuaries, bays and low-energy inter-tidal zones. Atlantic European salt marshes are characterised by natural grasslands along sheltered stretches of the Atlantic European coast from mid-Portugal to the North Sea. Salt marshes are also prominent along the sheltered shores around the south coast of Portugal and the Mediterranean basin.

Data on the extent and carbon stock of salt marshes is patchy at best, however it is estimated the soils of European salt marshes having the long-term sequestration potential of 151 g C m-2 yr-1. This is six times the carbon sequestration potential of peatlands (26.6 g C m-2 yr-1) which are considered the largest natural terrestrial carbon store worldwide[3]. Salt marshes are particularly threatened by sea-level rise as a result of “coastal squeeze”, causing an average estimated reduction of 13% in these habitats over the past 50 years. Changes in the supply of coastal sediment and modification of water hydrodynamics such as flow and strength can also cause a significant decline in the quality and quantity of salt marshes.

In addition to their carbon sequestration potential, both seagrass and salt marshes support climate adaptation by improving habitat and the food chain for commercial fisheries; shoreline stabilisation; storm protection and flood attenuation. Many blue carbon plant species also significantly raise the seafloor, again supporting natural coastline protection against sea level rise. These additional adaptation benefits are becoming increasingly important as the climate continues to change and, in the UK, alone, salt marshes provide £1 billion worth of coastal flood defences[4].

Alongside mangroves, seagrass and salt marshes, there is additional potential for blue carbon projects that involve kelp, phytoplankton and biogenic reefs. Kelp especially has been argued by scientists to have been “overlooked” in the blue carbon scene, notably in Australia where in the Great Southern Reef kelp is calculated to hold ~3% of total global blue carbon. However, a key challenge of including kelp in blue carbon is that it may be indirectly accounted for already, as it can be buried within tidal marshes, mangrove forests and seagrass beds[5]. This raises the risk of double counting. Whilst not currently included, this is a pioneering area of research and it is likely as blue carbon develops further additional ecosystems may also be included.

Political and Financial Incentives for Blue Carbon Projects

As part of the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit revised National Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years. These NDCs include information regarding the scope and coverage of a country’s mitigation and adaptation efforts, of which nature-based solutions, including blue carbon, play a central role. Specifically in Europe, the European Commission adopted the Biodiversity Strategy under the European Green Deal in May 2020. This ambitious multilateral framework sets a series of biodiversity goals, including enhanced restoration and conservation measures in protected areas and improving weakened and deteriorated ecosystems. Restoring, protecting and improving blue carbon ecosystems (i.e., salt marshes and seagrass) across Europe is a key tool in achieving these goals.

In addition to the biodiversity strategy, at the heart of the European Green Deal is also this target of reaching climate-neutrality by 2050 which requires transitioning to a net-zero economy[6]. Whilst this will be achieved primarily through countries and companies reducing their own emissions, certain emissions are unavoidable and thus require to be offset. The sale of carbon credits generated through European and Mediterranean blue carbon projects would allow for the upscaling of restoration, conservation and development of these ecosystems, whilst allowing private companies to support the attainment of their net zero targets.

Whilst to date there are no certified blue carbon project in Europe, there are a number of organisations who have begun undertaking conservation and regeneration in support of carbon sequestration. One such organisation is Carbon Kapture, who has the intention of creating a new market in seaweed-based (i.e. kelp) carbon services. Kelp grows 30 times faster than trees and is considered highly efficient in removing CO2 from the atmosphere, it can also be sold to farmers as animal feed, reducing methane emissions from livestock[7].

Another organisation working to conserve blue carbon ecosystems is Project Manaia who are on a mission to preserve seagrass, investigate invasive species and clear out marine debris. Based in Austria, their work on seagrass has primarily focussed on documenting the current extent of the meadows as well as any changes in the dimensions over time. This allows them to focus on replanting the seagrass in areas which need it.

Carbon Certification

Prior to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, certified carbon projects in Europe were enabled through the Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation (JI). Of the European Union countries in the Mediterranean region (Spain, France, Italy and Greece), only 20 projects have been registered under JI - seventeen in France and three in Spain, with none of them being in relation to ocean ecosystems. To learn more about this, one of our previous post deals with carbon offsetting and the functioning of carbon certification processes.

Whilst blue carbon projects have become increasingly popular alongside other NbS, its use in a European context remains underdeveloped. All blue carbon projects currently registered in both the compliance and voluntary carbon markets are mangrove projects in tropical countries.

There are currently six carbon accounting and monitoring approved methodologies under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the Gold Standard (GS) and the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) that can be applied to blue carbon projects. While it is recommended for projects to use an existing methodology, it is possible to amend or develop a new methodology if required. Of these six, only two VCS methodologies would be suitable to projects based in Europe – VM0024 Methodology for Coastal Wetland Creation and VM00033 for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration. The CDM only allows for projects in developing countries; and the GS methodology is currently only applicable to mangroves.

There are a number of potential methodologies under development and the GS is looking to expand their methodologies to include other blue carbon ecosystems including seagrass and algae. French certification standard Label bas-Carbone has also begun research into establishing the first methodology specifically for certifying conservation and preservation measures for seagrass beds, with the intention of their first project being undertaken in the Calanques National Park in France[8].

If you already have a blue carbon project in mind, there are five stages to work through to understand whether your project could be eligible for carbon finance:

1. Confirm your project’s additionality and evaluation the ownership conditions of the carbon offsets

2. Identify the relevant carbon accounting methodology and certification standard

3. Quantify the carbon offsets that could be generated

4. Assess the financial viability and timeline of your project

5. Evaluate the potential barriers and non-financial motivations

Each of these steps are discussed in depth and directly in relation to blue carbon in the IUCN manual. In addition, HAMERKOP has also produced a Carbon Finance Handbook which provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to find out whether a project can be eligible to carbon finance.

If you are interested in learning more or discussing your options, our team of experts is here to help and have extensive experience in NbS and blue carbon projects. We can help you assess the potential of your project to benefit from carbon finance, help you structure your project or support you to better understand the opportunities related to this field.

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[1] Source: The blue carbon initiative, Coastal Blue Carbon methods for assessing carbon stocks and emission factors in mangroves, tidal salt marshes and seagrass meadows.

[2] Source: https://www.se.com/fr/fr/about-us/newsroom/news/press-releases/label-bas-carbone--ecoact-interxion-france-schneider-electric-france-et-le-parc-national-des-calanques-lancent-le-projet-de-m%C3%A9thodologie-pour-la-pr%C3%A9servation-des-herbiers-marins-prom%C3%A9th%C3%A9e--med-6050b9e9b120ca0dec63cc2b

[3] Source: https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/peatlands-and-climate-change

[4] Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/09/how-artificial-salt-marshes-can-help-in-the-fight-against-rising-seas-aoe

[5] Source: Substantial blue carbon in overlooked Australian Kelp forests (Filbee-Dexter, K., Wernberg, T., 2020)

[6] Souce: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en

[7] Source: https://www.carbonkapture.org/blog/r87trpd128isrubc0vromx9oebnfwz

[8] Source: https://www.se.com/fr/fr/about-us/newsroom/news/press-releases/label-bas-carbone--ecoact-interxion-france-schneider-electric-france-et-le-parc-national-des-calanques-lancent-le-projet-de-m%C3%A9thodologie-pour-la-pr%C3%A9servation-des-herbiers-marins-prom%C3%A9th%C3%A9e--med-6050b9e9b120ca0dec63cc2b