September 2024
Just like forests on land, seagrasses are highly effective at absorbing and storing carbon, helping to reduce the impacts of climate change.
How does seagrass help fight climate change?
Globally, seagrasses store nearly 20 billion tonnes of organic carbon — an amount comparable to that stored in the world’s tidal marshes and mangrove forests, the two other major blue carbon ecosystems.
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However, when seagrass meadows are lost or degraded, they not only lose their capacity to capture carbon but also gradually release the carbon already stored. Global emissions from seagrass degradation could reach up to 0.65 gigatonnes per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of the entire global shipping industry.
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Recognising the role of seagrasses in climate change mitigation and adaptation is essential for promoting policies that protect and restore these vital ecosystems.
