Why Harmonizing Blue Carbon Accounting Is Key to Climate Action

 

Efforts to address climate change have highlighted the importance of blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes as vital carbon sinks. However, the methodologies for blue carbon accounting vary widely across countries, presenting challenges to standardizing practices and achieving global climate goals.
 

A recent PEMSEA study, examining blue carbon accounting practices in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines alongside voluntary guidelines from VERRA revealed differences in methodologies, objectives, and data collection. 

Some countries focus on carbon crediting for international markets, while others prioritize national inventories or conservation efforts. While VERRA and Japan focus on facilitating carbon crediting for international markets, countries like Korea and Indonesia prioritize national inventories, monitoring, and conservation.In the Philippines and Indonesia, citizen scientists and local communities play a key role in gathering data, fostering stewardship and inclusivity.

Despite the above efforts, some gaps still remain: critical carbon pools like dead wood and litter are often overlooked, and technologies like remote sensing are yet to be fully tapped.
 

The Need to Harmonize

Harmonizing blue carbon accounting protocols is critical for advancing climate change mitigation implementation. Standardized methodologies would enable consistent and reliable data collection, bridging gaps between carbon crediting and national reporting objectives and potentially allow for carbon trading in the region. 
This would also facilitate integration into national climate strategies, ensuring that blue carbon projects align with both regional contexts and international frameworks.

To achieve this, countries need to work together to develop common guidelines that define roles for stakeholders, such as data collectors and verifiers, and incorporate blue carbon accounting into regulatory frameworks. Establishing clear criteria for project size and type ranging from community-based initiatives to large-scale efforts improves the applicability and scalability of blue carbon initiatives.

A harmonized system would not only improve the comparability of carbon sequestration data but also bolster the credibility of carbon credits, fostering confidence in international carbon markets. Through aligning national, regional and international priorities, harmonized protocols can maximize the potential of blue carbon ecosystems in mitigating climate change not only on carbon trading but also in integrating local communities needs and socio-economic imperatives in combating climate change.
 

Read more about the study here.