Coastal wetlands have a variety of ecosystem services including blue carbon sinks and biodiversity conservation. Coastal wetlands including mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrass beds, sequestrate and store carbon in the ecosystems for a long time, acting as blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs). The blue carbon projects (BCPs) that generate carbon credits for the market by conserving and restoring coastal wetlands realize the value of these ecosystems, which play an important roles in mitigating climate change. This study overview the existing carbon market and carbon market methodologies applicable to BCPs in the global, and analyses the development of BCPs in the current carbon market. Currently, totally 14 BCPs, all of which are mangrove projects, have been registered under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Plan Vivo Standard. The carbon trading methodology applied to the BCPs is still limited globally. Research on blue carbon methodologies are active in China. The mangrove methodology has been registered in China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER), and the methodologies of saltmarsh and seagrass beds have been developed and applied in local BCPs. However, it is still urgent needs to developed and promoted across a wider range of project types and species in blue carbon. This analysis provides the development and activities on global and local blue carbon markets, and help to inform future BCP design as well as blue carbon strategies.
 

Blue carbon,Carbon market,Climate change,Blue carbon offset projects,Coastal wetlands