Coastal ecosystems remove the carbon of 4 million cars
ENVIRONMENT
New research has shown how important the Great Barrier Reef and associated coastal ecosystems are to the wider environment from a new angle.
Edith Cowan University researchers and an international team of collaborators have accurately quantified the amount of greenhouse gasses -- or ‘blue carbon’ -- being absorbed and emitted by Australian marine ecosystems.
Published yesterday, the paper shows Australian seagrass, mangroves, and salt marshes absorb 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, which remains locked up in their soils for millennia.
That’s about the same as the annual emissions of more than 4 million cars.
This quantification of Australia’s blue carbon is the most accurate of any country and paves the way for conservation and restoration of these ecosystems to be counted toward the country’s commitments to emissions reductions such as the Paris Agreement.
The research also provides a financial baseline for investors looking at blue carbon projects to offset emissions.
Based on a carbon trading price of $12 per tonne, the authors see potential for blue carbon projects worth tens of millions of dollars per year in payments from the Australian Emission Reduction Fund and voluntary carbon markets.
Lead author, Dr Oscar Serrano from the Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research in ECU’s School of Science, said blue carbon ecosystems play an enormously important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“When these ecosystems are damaged by storms, heatwaves, dredging or other human development, the carbon dioxide stored in their biomass and soils beneath them can make its way back into the environment, contributing to climate change,” he said.
Dr Serrano said coastal ecosystems are just as important to preserve and protect as tropical rainforests.
“Globally, vegetated coastal ecosystems are being lost twice as fast as tropical rainforests despite covering a fraction of the area,” he said.
“These ecosystems are also important as habitats and nurseries for fish and other marine life, helping prevent coastal erosion and improving water clarity.”
Dr Serrano said this new research positioned Australia as a world leader in the protection and management of blue carbon ecosystems.
He urged everyone, from governments to the individual, to do their part to protect and preserve our marine ecosystems.
“Australia is home to around 10 per cent of the world’s blue carbon ecosystems, so there’s enormous potential for us to take a lead role in this space,” he said.
“Australia is in a position to take a leading role in developing policies to offset greenhouse gas emissions which can then be implemented around the world.
“It’s also internationally significant because other countries can take the work we’ve done here and use it to create their own baselines for blue carbon assessments.”
The full research paper "Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation" can be read online here
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