2 March 2023

Scaling Up Blue Carbon Actions through Partnerships

Organizers

Leading Organization: Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment of the Republic of Indonesia

Partner Organizations:

  1. Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI)
  2. World Economic Forum

Date, Time, Venue

Date: Thursday, 2nd March 2023
Time: 11:35 – 12:25 PM (GMT-5)
Venue: Salon Caribe 1 – Panama Convention Center

Description

The science of blue carbon has been made clear: Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCE) hold significant potential as ocean-based solutions to climate change and provide wide ranging benefits to coastal communities. Anthropogenic pressures have been prevailing threats to the health of BCE. Degraded BCE can turn from carbon sinks to sources of carbon emissions, and pose risks to biodiversity and livelihood. Thus, effective protection of existing BCE and restoration of degraded BCE are needed. Increase in global and national actions to safeguard BCE and opportunities for blue carbon finance emerge as the pressures rise to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14 and the Paris Agreement. However, challenges and gaps still exist within governance and blue carbon markets. There is a need to enhance national capacity in tapping into blue financing and blue carbon projects that can generate high-quality credits. Science-based policies and actions should be well coordinated to safeguard BCE, and to unlock BCE’s full potential in contributing to states’ climate ambitions and coastal resilience planning.

Strong governance and public-private partnerships will be catalysts to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for blue carbon. An effort to achieve this is through the development of the Blue Carbon Action Partnership (BCAP), an initiative by the World Economic Forum Ocean Action Agenda. BCAP will contribute to global coordination of existing multisectoral blue carbon actors as well as establish country-level partnerships to develop science, policy, and financial mechanisms for scaling BCE restoration and conservation. The Global BCAP Secretariat will provide technical expertise for global scientific needs and support National BCAPs (NBCAP) as well as share best practices learned from these in-country interventions. At the country-level, the NBCAPs will be implemented through establishing a national secretariat, developing and advancing a blue carbon roadmap, and catalyzing strategic financing. A network of blue carbon projects will be connected to the international market or other revenue-generating mechanisms. Indonesia has partnered with the Forum to become the first NBCAP.

This side event will explore: (1) key challenges and opportunities in blue carbon governance and blue carbon markets; (2) how accelerated public-private collaborations can tackle challenges and enable financial streams to safeguard BCE; and (3) how BCAP will contribute to strengthen governance and partnerships.

Speakers

  • Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
  • Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development, Norway
  • Nani Hendiarti, Deputy Minister for Environment and Forestry Management, Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment
  • Victor Gustaf Manoppo, Director General of Marine Spatial Management, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries
  • Emily Kelly, World Economic Forum

Moderator

  • Stephanie Juwana, Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative

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