APPG launches inquiry into Blue Carbon and Ocean-Based Solutions to Climate Change

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Ocean has today launched an inquiry into Blue Carbon and Ocean-Based Solutions to Climate Change. This will be the APPG’s first inquiry since its formation in May 2022.

The inquiry will look at ocean-based solutions to climate change and the role of blue carbon and has set ten introductory questions, however respondents are encouraged to submit any and all thoughts that they would like the APPG to consider.

The inquiry will close at 17:00 on Wednesday 10 August. Respondents are asked to submit evidence and any questions to: contact@oceanappg.org. Please can you keep all responses limited to 500 words per question. This inquiry will cover Great Britain, Northern Ireland and all relevant overseas territories.

 Questions:

 1)    What role can ocean-based solutions play in tackling climate change?

2)    Do you feel that the Government is doing enough to support blue carbon and blue carbon projects? What action would you like them to take?

3)    What kinds of ocean/nature-based solutions would you like to see implemented and how would they benefit a) coastal communities, b) flood prevention, and c) tackling climate change?

4)    Do you feel that there is enough funding and support for research into how the ocean absorbs carbon?

5)    What is the net benefit (carbon stored minus carbon used) for each Blue Carbon approach and for how long is the carbon stored in the ocean in each case?

6)    Do you agree with the recommendation by the Lords Science and Technology Committee, in its report “Nature-based solutions: rhetoric or reality?”, that blue carbon mapping is needed in the UK’s exclusive economic zone?

7)    What additional benefits might the implementation of nature-based solutions in the marine environment bring such as skills training, capacity-building, sustainable development, and job creation?

8)    Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) ideas are also being discussed for the open ocean, beyond the continental shelves, as well as for the coastal zone (e.g., US National Academy report). How do the benefits, risks and costs compare if CDR techniques were applied to each of these parts of the marine system?

9)    How do the lack of verifiable standards of data and scientific evidence hinder investments in blue carbon projects across coastal and deep ocean components of the marine ecosystem?

10) What kinds of engineering solutions could contribute to scaling up and increasing the feasibility of nature-based solutions in marine environments?