Scottish blue carbon action plan

1. Background to the action plan

The term ‘blue carbon’ is relatively new (and is explained in more detail in section 2, below), having been coined around 2009. It has since gained significant traction, reflected in the growing body of research and projects on blue carbon habitats and their increasing prominence in national and international climate change discussions.

Scotland was an early proponent of blue carbon. In 2014, NatureScot commissioned and published an inventory of blue carbon stores in Scotland’s coastal and marine environment.^[1] In 2018, the SBCF was formed in collaboration with the Scottish Government to coordinate and progress blue carbon research. The SBCF is currently overseen by a steering committee comprising the Scottish Government, NatureScot, and an independent chair.

In its earlier research, the SBCF took a wide definition of blue carbon habitats that included calcifying systems such as maerl beds, oysters, and serpulid reefs. Whilst the Scottish Government no longer considers these habitats to be blue carbon systems or sinks due to the release of CO₂ during the calcification process (see section 2), this initial research was essential to understand the relative contribution of these habitats to climate change mitigation and the important distinction between organic and inorganic carbon. These habitats can act as net stores of organic carbon by trapping organic matter in their complex physical structures. They remain important for the ocean carbon cycle and for biodiversity, but are not considered in scope in this action plan as its primary focus is on climate change mitigation.

Working with a number of Scottish universities and research institutions, the Scottish Government, via the SBCF, has already supported a programme of research aimed at addressing critical knowledge gaps on blue carbon habitats, as well as other helpful resources such as guides for local communities and other interested parties to support the protection and restoration of blue carbon habitats (see Box 1, below).

The SBCF has also developed regional partnerships with the Solway Firth Partnership, supported the Scottish Government’s participation in the UKBCEP, participated in international collaboration through the Under 2 Coalition Net Zero Policy Forum on Carbon Sequestration, the International Partnership for Blue Carbon, and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development programme for blue carbon “GO-BC” (as a founding partner).

More widely, work at a cross-UK level by the UKBCEP is progressing to build up the evidence base for blue carbon and to support the potential inclusion of appropriate habitats into the UK greenhouse gas inventory, beginning with saltmarsh. The UKBCEP Evidence Needs Statement sets out a structured approach to addressing evidence gaps to support efforts by all of the research community to contribute to these goals.^[2]

Reflecting and building on the work undertaken in Scotland in the last decade, it is now an appropriate time to set out the Scottish Government’s priorities and actions on blue carbon, including how this will support efforts across the UK and internationally to better understand blue carbon habitats and their contribution to tackling the urgent twin crises of climate change and nature loss. This involves addressing remaining evidence gaps and ensuring that blue carbon is widely and actively integrated into the appropriate policy frameworks, based on this evidence.

Box 1: Holdfast funding and community guides

Investing in projects to enhance and restore blue carbon habitats can be complex and difficult to navigate. The SBCF has supported the production of both a funding guide and a community guide to facilitate further action to support habitats.

Together, these guides provide useful information on types of investment and funding, project development, risks, key concepts, possible community actions, and certification of projects.

These were developed by Edinburgh Napier University, in partnership with the Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services, Project Seagrass, Vanga Blue Forest and the Mangrove Action Project.

See Holdfast Funding Guide and Holdfast Community Guide.