Blue Carbon, Potentially Greater Concentration of Emissions

A new Duke University technical report reveals that land conversion of coastal and marine ecosystems is becoming a significant source of GHGs. In their natural state, these ecosystems provide a large reservoir of “blue carbon”. However, when disturbed via urbanization and disturbance, they release relatively large amounts of GHGs when compared to a similar size of tropical forest disturbance. Recent emergence of this data raises the question of how best to mitigate under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.