by Giles Parkinson – Climate Spectator – July 20, 2011

Researchers are pushing for a new category of carbon abatement – so called “blue carbon” sinks that focuses on mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses – to be included in the UN clean development mechanism, the principal form of international carbon credits that Australian businesses will likely seek to access from 2015. According to Point Carbon, researchers believe blue carbon sinks could stores up to 900 million tonnes of CO2-e a year. “The rules would need to be changed to incorporate other ecosystems and activities such as salt marsh or mangrove conservation in developing countries,” Robert O’Sullivan, head of the North American office of environmental research group Climate Focus, told Point Carbon News in a interview. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is considering introducing guidance for estimating emissions and removals from coastal wetland ecosystems, such as salt marshes and seagrasses, for a report due in 2013. For full article, click here.