Three quarters of the UK lies beneath the sea, yet when it comes to climate policy our focus remains concentrated on the quarter of the UK above the shoreline.
Carbon is captured in the UK ocean by habitats such as saltmarsh, seagrass, kelp forests and biogenic reefs, and vast amounts of carbon is stored in marine sediments.
Recognition and protection of the sea’s contribution to the fight against climate change has not kept pace with developments on land. However, a new report, for the first time, maps and quantifies the English North Sea’s carbon assets, following in the footsteps of similar studies carried out in Scottish waters, providing an important piece of the puzzle that up to now has been missing in our understanding. The report reveals that in just the top 10cm of sediment, the study area contains roughly the same carbon as ¼ of all the UK’s forests and woodlands but crucially marine sediments are likely to reach hundreds, if not thousands of meters in depth – meaning we are currently only measuring the tip of the iceberg. Three quarters of the UK lies beneath the sea, yet when it comes to climate policy our focus remains concentrated on the quarter of the UK above the shoreline.