What is blue carbon?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]

(a) Carbon captured by oceans and coastal ecosystems.

(b) Carbon sequestered in forest biomass and agricultural soils.

(c) Carbon contained in petroleum and natural gas.

(d) Carbon present in atmosphere.

Answer: (a)        

Explanation:

• The term “blue carbon” refers to the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems.
• The so-called blue carbon ecosystems – mangroves, tidal and salt marshes, and seagrasses – are highly productive coastal ecosystems that are particularly important for their capacity to store carbon within the plants and in the sediments below.
• Scientific assessments show that they can sequester two to four times more carbon than terrestrial forests and are thereby considered a key component of nature-based solutions to climate change.