BLUE Climate

The ocean plays a pivotal role in regulating our climate, having absorbed 90 per cent of excess heat produced by greenhouse gas emissions and around 25 per cent of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Yet the habitats and marine life that enable the ocean to perform these key functions are being severely depleted. In a world of rapid global heating and runaway climate change, the vital role of the ocean as a solution to climate change must be fully understood and utilised effectively. 

Blue Climate is a specialist unit within Blue Marine Foundation (Blue Marine) that is focused on proving the value of the ocean as a solution to climate change. The unit integrates with Blue Marine’s wider conservation and restoration work; delivering targeted evidence to inform political change at a local and global level. We use our projects to develop templates of best practice for communities and biodiversity. And we campaign to raise the profile of the ocean as a climate change solution at international events such as the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties.  

Increasingly we are also engaging with other crucial oceans and climate topics, such as climate-resilient Marine Protected Areas and the offshore energy transition. By working internationally on a breadth of climate issues we can influence policy-making to ensure the safe, sustainable use of our ocean.   

Blue Carbon Ecosystems 

Blue Carbon Ecosystems, mangroves, seagrass and saltmarshes, are vital for; the global carbon cycle, fisheries enhancement, coastal resilience and sustaining critical biodiversity. We seek the effective conservation and restoration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems through a combination of scientific evidence, economic instruments, policy frameworks and projects that demonstrate best practice. We are also supporting innovative science to further our understanding of the role that other habitats such as kelp and seabed sediment play in climate regulation. 

In 2023 we began integrating the protection and restoration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems into existing Blue Marine project locations in the Maldives, the Dutch Caribbean, Greece and Formentera. We have also established new relationships with local NGO partners to implement community-based ecological mangrove restoration projects in Indonesia and the Philippines.    

Blue carbon is already a viable and actionable climate solution. However, knowledge and methodological challenges remain, as well as finance and policy gaps that need to be addressed to realise the full potential of blue natural capital solutions. 

Meanwhile, north of Scotland in the Orkney Islands we are supporting research to map the flows of carbon in kelp forests. This will improve the understanding of kelp as a carbon storing  ecosystem.  

The seascape is the ultimate sink for carbon emissions, and could be an immense ally in efforts to slow runaway climate change. The Convex Seascape Survey seeks to answer some of the crucial questions that remain on this topic.  

Market-Enabling in the UK   

In 2024, we launched a roadmap for a high-integrity marine natural capital market in the UK. It  focuses on bringing needed finance to expand  restoration locally, catalysing engagement across government, private sector, civil society and academia. Developed in collaboration with leaders spanning 

academia, industry, finance, government and not-for-profits across the nations, this roadmap is a milestone for bringing actors together to take urgent action for recovery of the marine environment. 

In 2021, Blue Marine alongside WWF, The Wildlife Trust and RSPB founded the UK Blue Carbon Forum. Since its inception the forum has continued to grow, recently co-hosting an event with the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership and Scottish Blue Carbon Forum about how to address the scientific questions remaining around saltmarsh and seagrass in the UK.