MCS ‘ We held the official launch of our Blue Carbon Champions group in Parliament. With one week to go before the long-anticipated COP26 Climate Change Conference is due to kick off in Glasgow, the time has never been more fitting to spark some optimism for the opportunities that our seas can offer.
We are working with a cross-party champion group of UK politicians to increase awareness around the unique role that ocean-based solutions can play in fighting the climate crisis. Our Blue Carbon
Champions are helping us to deliver the message to UK Government that taking decisive action to protect and value our blue carbon habitats is a vital part of the roadmap we need to put the ocean back on a path to recovery and meet our climate and nature goals.
Our launch event provided an insightful platform for politicians to hear from a range of speakers from international policymakers, the financial sector, policy experts and the fishing industry.
First up, Dr Jean-Luc Solandt highlighted ‘the single most important activity that we need to curtail’ to protect our blue carbon habitats; bottom trawling. This destructive fishing method is having a huge impact on our critically important seagrass meadows, kelp forests and oyster beds, which are vital in storing carbon and removing it from our atmosphere.’