Fact box 8. A 25% emission reduction could be gained from green and blue carbon
The most recent estimates indicate that human activities are cur- reductions needed to keep atmospheric concentrations of carbon
rently responsible for annual global carbon emissions of around dioxide below 450 ppm (Trumper et al., 2009).
7–10,000 Tg C yr
–1
, of which around 1,500 Tg C or around 15–
20% is the result of land use change. The remaining emissions Blue carbon: According to this report, protection, improved man-
are from fossil fuel use and cement production (Canadell et al., agement and restoration of the ocean’s blue carbon sinks would
2007). This has led to an average annual rate of increase of CO
2
result in preventing the annual loss of up to 450 Tg C yr
–1
, or equiva-
concentrations in the atmosphere of 1–2 ppm or up to 2,000 Tg C lent to a corresponding 10% of the reductions needed.
yr
–1
for the years 1995–2005 compared with around 1.25 ppm for
the years 1960–1995 (IPCC, 2007b; Houghton, 2007). Combined with the green carbon – REDD – the effect would be at
least 20–25% of the emission reductions needed – with huge ben-
Green carbon: Reducing deforestation rates by 50% by 2050 efits to food security, water resources, biodiversity – and the cre-
and then maintaining them at this level until 2100 would avoid ation of jobs and incomes. But this would require a similar “REDD”
the direct release of up to 50 Gt C this century or approximately programme for oceans as has been established for rainforests – a
555 Tg C yr
–1
, which is equivalent to 12–15% of the emissions blue carbon fund.
60
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