A new report released today (3 November) outlines a quicker, more effective way to fight climate change than planting forests – creating and restoring more coastal saltmarshes full of carbon-storing mud.
As the world meets to agree its latest plans to combat climate change at the UN Climate Change COP, WWT’s Wetlands For Carbon Storage Route Map calls for the creation of at least 22,000 hectares of coastal saltmarsh by 2050 to help the UK government reach its net zero targets. Reaching 22,000 hectares (an area twice the size of Bristol) could store 1.5 megatonnes of carbon dioxide every year - equivalent to taking 770,000 cars off the road for one year[ii]. This type of marine carbon storage is sometimes referred to as ‘blue carbon’
The government set up the Blue Carbon Forum at the Climate COP in Glasgow last year which led to the creation of a UK Blue Carbon Forum Working Group, but has done little since to incorporate this vital habitat into environmental policy, initiatives or release funding.
WWT’s route map, which was shared with MPs at the recent Wetlands APPG meeting, sets out how government, the private sector and civil society can work together to create more saltmarsh, currently a rare habitat in the UK. As a priority, it is calling for the government to help release funding and support by incorporating saltmarsh creation into its key climate policies – specifically it’s Nationally Determined Contributions and the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
The report, also calls for the Saltmarsh Carbon Code currently being developed by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) to be adopted by UK government and devolved administration by 2025. This code could unlock private investment to create, restore and effectively manage more saltmarsh – similar to the positive effect the existing woodland and peatlands code have had on investment in these habitats.
Dr James Robinson, member of the Saltmarsh Specialist’s Forum and WWT Director of Conservation, said: “In recent days, a variety of major UN reports have warned that we are close to irreversible climate breakdown. Against this grim background we simply do not have time to ignore efficient, fast and cost-effective solutions to climate change like saltmarsh. Evidence is mounting that coastal wetlands such as saltmarsh could be more effective than trees in the fight against accelerating climate change. Statistics which tell us that peatlands and coastal wetlands put together store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined, and that carbon is typically captured 40 times faster by saltmarsh than temperate forests[iii] are hard to ignore. The government have embraced tree planting in climate policy which we welcome, but we need the same approach for saltmarsh. As an island, we could, and should, be world-leading in harnessing the benefits of this vital habitat at scale.”
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Posted On: 04/11/2022