The Climate Change Committee’s progress report to the UK Parliament has recommended that saltmarsh and seagrass should be included in the UK Greenhouse Gas inventory.

The statutory report provides a comprehensive overview of the UK Government’s progress to date in reducing emissions. Within the report there is coverage of carbon in marine and coastal ecosystems. The report states:

Blue carbon is defined as marine and coastal carbon which can be managed to contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. In the UK, saltmarsh and seagrass fall into this category. A recent CCC blue carbon briefing evaluated the potential for these ecosystems to contribute to climate mitigation and considered the associated benefits, such as for climate adaptation. It was assessed that restoration and creation of saltmarsh and seagrass ecosystems is likely to yield an additional GHG abatement of well below 1 MtCO2e/yr. This is small compared to total UK emissions, and actions to pursue this abatement should be proportionate to its scale.

In addition to their carbon value, these ecosystems deliver a wide array of co-benefits, such as mitigating flood risk, biodiversity, water quality, fisheries and tourism. Effective management of these ecosystems is critical to protect and enhance these benefits, and to build resilience to the numerous and severe risks these ecosystems face from climate change.

The briefing made four recommendations for the Government:

• Produce a roadmap to inclusion of saltmarsh and seagrass in the UK GHG inventory.
• Encourage efforts to monitor the extent, condition and functioning of marine and coastal ecosystems.
• Continue strengthening protection and restoration in marine areas, including support for sustainable management.
• Recognise the interaction of marine and coastal ecosystems with wider catchments in the design of initiatives to replace the CAP.

Blue carbon is not currently included in the UK’s GHG inventory. There remains significant uncertainty in quantifying the contribution of marine and coastal ecosystems to carbon stores and sequestration in the UK. However, the link between management of these ecosystems and GHG emissions is most clear for saltmarsh and seagrass ecosystems. We therefore make a recommendation, carried over into this report, for the inclusion of saltmarsh and seagrass in the UK GHG inventory.

Further information and the full report can be read here.