[Tech1] Blue carbon

[M E GILES]

I don’t remember it, Dave. It sounds almost too good to be true, but I surely hope it is and that the significance is not overlooked ~ seems like a case of “can’t see the marsh for the trees”, to paraphrase that all too frequently true adage.

Mike G



> On 6 Nov 2021, at 15:42, David Newbitt via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Has this topic been aired before on any previous thread?
>  
> <image[1].png>
>  
> ‘Dangerous blindspot’: why overlooking blue carbon could sink us.
> 
> Karen McVeigh.  Nov. 6th
> 
> When the ambitious plan to allow sea water to flood over the Steart peninsula in Somerset <> was completed in 2014, critics called it a waste of money. Floods had recently blighted the nearby area, and some local people argued the £20m spent on creating a new 250-hectare (617-acre) salt marsh would have been better spent on other flood-prevention projects.
> Seven years ago, the concept of “blue carbon” – how marine ecosystems store carbon – was in its infancy. Some research had looked at how mangrove forests absorb carbon, but little was known about how effective seagrass and salt marshes also were at absorbing greenhouse gas emissions.
> 
> The two groups behind the salt marsh – the Environment Agency and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) – barely mentioned the climate. They said the purpose of the marsh was to protect the coast from erosion and create a new valuable habitat for birdlife. Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, <> called the marsh an “extravagant, ridiculous scheme” that put birds ahead of humans.
> 
> Trees and peat can take us so far, but blue carbon ecosystems, such as salt marshes, can take us further
> 
> Less than eight years later, however, everything has changed. Blue carbon is at the forefront of the fight against the climate crisis – and as world leaders gather at Cop26, evidence has emerged that the Steart marsh could be a more powerful carbon sink than anybody imagined.
> 
> Scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University found that Steart marshes absorbed 19 tonnes of organic carbon a hectare every year, or 18,000 tonnes in four years <> – the equivalent of eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions of 32,900 cars. Their work is part of a growing body of research suggesting blue carbon is an order of magnitude more efficient than its terrestrial equivalent.
> 
> “The carbon storage at Steart is phenomenal,” says Tim McGrath, head of project development at WWT, which manages the salt marsh. “These exceptional findings could indicate that the carbon storage potential of restoring salt marsh around the UK coast has been underestimated.”
> 
> It would take 100 years for a woodland to sequester and store as much carbon as Steart can store in six years, McGrath says. “Trees and peat can take us so far, but blue carbon ecosystems, such as salt marshes, can take us further. It’s time governments seized this opportunity.”
> 
> But as world leaders at Cop26 earlier pledge to end deforestation by 2030 <>, campaigners and marine conservationists say the powerful carbon sinks in the ocean are being overlooked. Only 43 out of 113 countries to submit greenhouse gas inventories <>, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs), have included blue carbon ecosystems as part of their mitigation measures. The UK, despite being a coastal nation with vast reserves of potential blue carbon, is one of those to failing to do so.
> 
> “If we are not protecting and counting the blue carbon in our seas, this leaves a dangerous blindspot” for UK policy, says Ailsa McLellan, coordinator for Our Seas, a coalition of Scottish businesses, communities and environmental groups. “It’s time we counted blue carbon, reinstated a limit on damaging methods of fishing, and put future generations first.”
> 
> One study suggests bottom trawling could release as much carbon as global aviation emissions <>. Our Seas is calling on Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, to establish an accounting system for blue carbon, so that marine and coastal ecosystems, including salt marshes, can be protected as part of the UK’s efforts to meet its climate goals.
> 
>  
> Dave Newbitt.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  <>-- 
> Tech1 mailing list
> Tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk
> http://tech-ops.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/tech1_tech-ops.co.uk

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://tech-ops.co.uk/pipermail/tech1_tech-ops.co.uk/attachments/20211106/3c4a8003/attachment.html>