Scaling coastal climate solutions: the potential for blue carbon in net-zero strategies

Explore how marine ecosystems can drive net-zero strategies while benefiting climate, biodiversity, and communities.

Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes – collectively known as blue carbon – are some of the most efficient natural carbon sinks on the planet, storing carbon up to 10 times faster than terrestrial forests. They also protect coastlines, support fisheries and provide critical habitat for biodiversity. Yet these ecosystems are disappearing rapidly, and their protection remains underfunded in most climate strategies.

The importance of blue carbon is beginning to gain traction among corporate sustainability teams, but it still represents a small share of nature-based investments. There’s a clear opportunity to change that, especially in regions such as west Africa where high-impact restoration efforts are underway.

We explore what credible blue carbon projects look like today, where the gaps are, and how companies can support this work in a way that aligns with climate, nature, and community goals. We’ll be hearing key insights from Conservation International, Terraformation, and Salesforce.

Panel

Dr Whitney Johnston, director of ocean sustainability, Salesforce
Yihan Wang, strategy and climate impact, Terraformation
Amy Schmid, global blue carbon project lead, Conservation International
Ledama Masidza, founder and marine conservationist, KindWorld Project
The session will be moderated by Ian Welsh, publishing director, Innovation Forum

Case study: This session also studies ReDAW, a mangrove restoration project in Ghana’s Anlo wetlands. It’s one of the few blue carbon projects of its kind currently in development globally, demonstrating measurable impact for climate, communities, and biodiversity.

We discuss: