Blue carbon: Why India must bet big on blue ecosystems

As the impacts of climate change intensify, the global spotlight is turning toward blue carbon ecosystems — mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, and coastal wetlands — as high-impact, nature-based climate solutions.

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These ecosystems are not only exceptional in their carbon storage capacity, but also offer multiple co-benefits including coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable livelihoods. For a country like India, with a 7,500-kilometre coastline and over 4,992 sq km of mangrove cover, blue carbon represents a strategic opportunity to simultaneously advance its climate goals, protect vulnerable coastal communities, and unlock substantial climate finance through carbon markets. Blue carbon finance enables investments in ecosystem restoration that generate Verified Emission Reductions (VERs), which can be traded on international platforms to fund conservation efforts and community-based adaptation initiatives.