UN Ocean Conference: The Promise of Blue Carbon

The carbon stored by marine and coastal ecosystems, called blue carbon, is one of the overarching themes of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference (2022 UNOC) organized in Lisbon from 27 June to 1 July. AFD is promoting the ongoing dynamics around this sector through a new coalition, the Global Coalition for Blue Carbon.

Coastal ecosystems, which include mangroves, seagrass beds and coastal marshes, are among the most productive on the planet. Indeed, they can absorb up to ten times more carbon per unit area than terrestrial forests. This carbon stored in both their biomass and soils has a name: "blue carbon".

However, over the last 50 years, these ecosystems have lost almost half of their historical surface area and continue to disappear at an annual rate of between 1 and 2%. "In view of their sequestration capacity, as well as their richness in terms of biodiversity and resilience for coastal communities, their protection and restoration are now crucial," says Romain Chabrol, Biodiversity and Oceans expert at Agence Française de Développement (AFD). "But there are still far too few dedicated projects."

Private sector interest in blue carbon credits

Governments and civil society have shown much greater interest in blue carbon since 2019 and the "blue" COP25. An increasing number of countries are integrating blue carbon in their Nationally Determined Contributions. In 2021, the Glasgow Climate Pact called on the various work programs and constituted bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to integrate and scale up ocean-based action in their mandates and roadmaps.

See also:Protecting our Oceans

Furthermore, about 15 mangrove restoration and conservation pilot projects, including in Colombia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico and Senegal, have generated or will generate "blue carbon" emission credits on the voluntary credit market. These carbon credits generated by projects allow private companies to offset their emissions as part of their strategies towards carbon neutrality.

"It can be interesting to use these credits and carbon finance," says Romain Chabrol, "because they help diversify the sources of financing for conservation projects and ensure their sustainability, as carbon credits are issued over a long period of time and therefore generate returns throughout this period. The climate value of ecosystems is then used to accelerate their restoration. But this value and this sequestration objective are not enough: we need to ensure that the highest standards for the fair sharing of benefits and biodiversity are respected."

Nature-based Solutions

AFD is currently financing and supporting ten coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration projects. They are climate projects with high social and biodiversity value and biodiversity projects with high climate and social value: Nature-based Solutions.

For example, AFD is supporting a capacity-building project for the Government of Senegal for the management of marine protected areas in the mangrove areas of Casamance and Sine Saloum, which is based on the experience of local communities. In Indonesia, it is supporting the implementation of the Government's Blue Carbon Strategy. In Mozambique, activities are being conducted with BIOFUND and WWF for the restoration and sustainable management of mangroves in the Zambezi Delta.

A coalition for commitment at the highest level

AFD is also contributing to the ongoing dynamics for blue carbon by leading a new coalition with the NGO Conservation International: the Global Coalition for Blue Carbon (GCBC), announced by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, on 11 February 2022 at the One Ocean Summit in Brest.

This coalition is in the form of a commitment platform gathering governments, NGOs and public and private institutions at the highest level. It aims to build on the global dynamics for blue carbon, launch more projects and ensure that the highest social and environmental standards are implemented. Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica and France are already members. The first commitments of its members are expected at COP27 in November.