We are facing a climate emergency, and the ocean is a powerful source of solutions that have the potential to provide a fifth of the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed globally to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Kelp forests and our coastal environments are being hit hard by climate change and other habitat loss impacts and need protection to help combat the climate crisis and drawdown greenhouse gas emissions.

Blue (aquatic) carbon is a very valuable resource to sequester carbon found in salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and tidal wetlands. Restoring blue carbon ecosystems could remove about 0.5% of current global emissions, with co-benefits for local ecosystems and livelihoods. Earlier this month, Oregon released a new Climate Plan that is the first in the United States to account for the blue carbon benefits of coastal habitats.