357
atmospheric CO 2 . The 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement) (IPCC 2014)
includes a methodology that was not fully covered under the 2006 IPCC Guidelines
(IPCC 2006) and covers mangroves, tidal marches, and seagrass meadows among
SCEs, but macroalgal beds and tidal flats are currently not included.
In Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) 37 of the
annual meeting of UNFCCC held in December 2012, the Coalition of Rainforest
Nations noted the importance of blue carbon, and the UNFCCC Workshop on
Technical and Scientific Aspects of Ecosystems with High-Carbon Reservoirs Not
Covered by Other Agenda Items under the Convention was held in October 2013. At
this workshop, proposals were made to report the absorption of CO 2 and mitigation
of climate change by SCEs in the agenda of SBSTA 39 in 2013. In the international
negotiations at UNFCCC-SBSTA 39, there was discussion as to whether calculation
using the 2013 IPCC Wetland Supplement would be obligatory for Annex I Parties.
As of 2018, SCEs (blue carbon ecosystems) are classified as “arbitrary” in calculating the greenhouse gas inventory of the LULUCF sector because each Party
does not have enough experience in the calculation of the inventory for SCEs.
This classification is scheduled to be reconsidered at the UNFCCC-SBSTA in the
near future. If the calculation of carbon stocks and flows for SCEs is obligated in
the future, the reduction of carbon stocks and CO 2 emission by development projects (e.g., human activities such as dredging, excavation, and aquaculture) in
SCEs will also have to be measured and reported in addition to the natural restoration and conservation projects that contribute to the absorption and emission
reduction of atmospheric CO 2 .
There has been no major progress on blue carbon in the international negotiations of UNFCCC since 2014, but discussions have been taking place in side events
during the COP holding period. Also, through the SBSTA, discussions on whether
to include SCEs in the inventory are repeatedly requested by high-interest island
countries and tropical countries. Based on this international situation, Australia has
officially decided to measure and report changes in the carbon stocks of the country’s blue carbon ecosystems and included these in its national greenhouse gas
accounts for 2017, ahead of other countries (Kelleway et al. 2017).
In the new legally binding framework after 2020 (Paris Agreement) adopted at
COP 21 in 2015, each country has adopted a Nationally Determined Contribution
(NDC) toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The mitigation measures
are undertaken in unique ways by each country, and a mutual verification mechanism (pledge and review approach) is the basic policy. Moreover, because each
country is required to review prospective and ambitious NDCs every 5 years, the
NDC can respond flexibly to scientific and technological progress and social
changes. At the same time, the NDC is structured so that each country’s efforts cannot step backward.
The Paris Agreement includes the following adoptions related to conservation,
restoration, and utilization of blue carbon:
13 The Future of Blue Carbon: Addressing Global Environmental Issues
atmospheric CO 2 . The 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement) (IPCC 2014)
includes a methodology that was not fully covered under the 2006 IPCC Guidelines
(IPCC 2006) and covers mangroves, tidal marches, and seagrass meadows among
SCEs, but macroalgal beds and tidal flats are currently not included.
In Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) 37 of the
annual meeting of UNFCCC held in December 2012, the Coalition of Rainforest
Nations noted the importance of blue carbon, and the UNFCCC Workshop on
Technical and Scientific Aspects of Ecosystems with High-Carbon Reservoirs Not
Covered by Other Agenda Items under the Convention was held in October 2013. At
this workshop, proposals were made to report the absorption of CO 2 and mitigation
of climate change by SCEs in the agenda of SBSTA 39 in 2013. In the international
negotiations at UNFCCC-SBSTA 39, there was discussion as to whether calculation
using the 2013 IPCC Wetland Supplement would be obligatory for Annex I Parties.
As of 2018, SCEs (blue carbon ecosystems) are classified as “arbitrary” in calculating the greenhouse gas inventory of the LULUCF sector because each Party
does not have enough experience in the calculation of the inventory for SCEs.
This classification is scheduled to be reconsidered at the UNFCCC-SBSTA in the
near future. If the calculation of carbon stocks and flows for SCEs is obligated in
the future, the reduction of carbon stocks and CO 2 emission by development projects (e.g., human activities such as dredging, excavation, and aquaculture) in
SCEs will also have to be measured and reported in addition to the natural restoration and conservation projects that contribute to the absorption and emission
reduction of atmospheric CO 2 .
There has been no major progress on blue carbon in the international negotiations of UNFCCC since 2014, but discussions have been taking place in side events
during the COP holding period. Also, through the SBSTA, discussions on whether
to include SCEs in the inventory are repeatedly requested by high-interest island
countries and tropical countries. Based on this international situation, Australia has
officially decided to measure and report changes in the carbon stocks of the country’s blue carbon ecosystems and included these in its national greenhouse gas
accounts for 2017, ahead of other countries (Kelleway et al. 2017).
In the new legally binding framework after 2020 (Paris Agreement) adopted at
COP 21 in 2015, each country has adopted a Nationally Determined Contribution
(NDC) toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The mitigation measures
are undertaken in unique ways by each country, and a mutual verification mechanism (pledge and review approach) is the basic policy. Moreover, because each
country is required to review prospective and ambitious NDCs every 5 years, the
NDC can respond flexibly to scientific and technological progress and social
changes. At the same time, the NDC is structured so that each country’s efforts cannot step backward.
The Paris Agreement includes the following adoptions related to conservation,
restoration, and utilization of blue carbon:
13 The Future of Blue Carbon: Addressing Global Environmental Issues