Unlocking investment in blue carbon solutions: Ocean APPG Chair Sally-Ann Hart MP writes for Conservative Home

The chair of the APPG for the Ocean Sally-Ann Hart MP, has written an article about why the next government should support unlocking investment in blue carbon solutions in Conservative Home.

In the opinion piece, Sally-Ann explains the important role blue carbon can play in enhancing the ocean’s capacity to absorb and store the significant amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Using the National Oceanography Centre’s definition, Sally-Ann defines blue carbon as essentially the “marine equivalent of trees and forest”.

The APPG’s first inquiry, Turning the Tide on Climate Change, examined the crucial role that blue carbon and ocean-based solutions play in mitigating against the harmful impacts of climate change and called for the Government to prioritise and facilitate investment in blue carbon.  In the opinion piece, Sally-Ann highlights how this prioristisation would include ensuring best practice guidelines for the carbon finance market, and building public trust and awareness into the benefits of blue carbon finances.

Sally-Ann stresses how the government cannot act alone and needs to work with the private sector in order to unlock the full potential of blue carbon solutions and financing and support innovative solutions within this space. As Sally-Ann notes, this can be done through better policy frameworks, clear government guidance on the delivery and standardisation of blue carbon projects and financing, and robust private and public sector partnerships.

“Working closely with the Government, business, and the ocean scientific community is the only way to unlock the full potential of blue carbon solutions and financing”