Blue carbon ― a new frontier

At COP27, in November 2022, Conservation International Aotearoa (New Zealand) launched the Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative, described by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu chair Lisa Tumahai as “an opportunity for Iwi to create one of the first indigenous-led voluntary blue carbon regimes in history.”25 One of the areas being explored is the part whales may play in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. A 2019 article in International Monetary Fund publication Finance & Development identifies that whales are worth “thousands of trees”, sequestering 33 tonnes of CO2 in their bodies on average, and carrying that carbon to the bottom of the ocean – and out of the atmosphere for centuries – when they die.26

The Ministry for the Environment’s Emissions Reduction Plan states that while blue carbon projects may possibly be included in the NZ ETS, such projects will need to be included in Aotearoa

New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and be supported by a comprehensive evidence base.27 There is work to do –but with the potential for a blue carbon industry in New Zealand to bring together environmental protection and economic production, there are those prepared to do the mahi.

Looking further afield, there is already interest in blue carbon projects in the Pacific and South-East Asia, with project sponsors and international investors seeing the opportunity to create carbon credits for businesses around the globe looking to off-set their emissions through projects that have much wider environmental and social benefits than conventional carbon forestry. Watch this space!