Published

2 years ago

May 29, 2024

Alice Rush

Within the ocean’s vast expanse lie immense reservoirs of carbon – surpassing those found in either the atmosphere or the land.

The ocean actively captures and incorporates carbon through various natural mechanisms, locking in a significant portion that would otherwise circulate within the Earth’s systems, thereby functioning as a continuous carbon sink.

This crucial role mitigates climate change by reducing the amount of carbon which ends up in the atmosphere. If the ocean remains as a net carbon sink, it can aid in offsetting ongoing emissions and slowing global warming.

Unfortunately, a longstanding misconception persists that the ocean has an infinite resilience to human exploitation and negligence – likely stemming from the fact that the consequences of our actions are obscured beneath the surface.

Unsustainable use of the ocean’s resources – such as through overfishing – coupled with warming and acidification progressively erode the ocean’s capacity to regulate carbon and heat and its ability to sustain essential resources and services.

Consequently, rates of carbon sequestration are weakening and the vast carbon reserves held within marine ecosystems are increasingly susceptible to release.

This guest post lays out the climate opportunities presented by “blue carbon” and the challenges these ecosystems face.

Blue carbon is a term that refers to carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems that has potential to be conserved or enhanced. Blue carbon is stored in vegetated coastal and marine ecosystems such as seagrass, mangroves and salt marshes.

The opportunity of coastal ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems – particularly vegetated ones, such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes – are among the most crucial marine systems for storing carbon. Like plants on land, marine vegetation absorbs CO2 through photosynthesis. Because their waterlogged soils are low in oxygen, the carbon stored there can be locked away for centuries.

Despite only occupying approximately 0.5% of the ocean, these ecosystems boast remarkable carbon sequestration capabilities, contributing more than 50% of total carbon buried in marine sediments.

However, these vital ecosystems also face relentless human-caused pressures, from runoff of nutrients and sediments to urban expansion. They are being destroyed at an alarming pace – an average of 2% loss per year for mangroves – and are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet.

Nevertheless, amidst this threat lies an opportunity: by reversing the conditions that are causing their decline, we can restore lost ecosystems and harness their potential as carbon sequestration hotspots once more.

The chart below shows the annual carbon storage potential of coastal ecosystems around the world, with yellow and light green indicating low storage potential and darker blues indicating high storage potential. The US, Mexico, Australia, Indonesia and Mexico stand out as countries with particularly high storage potential.

Map of global blue carbon stocks (in millions of tonnes of carbon), with yellow and green colours representing lower amounts of blue carbon storage potential and blues indicating higher amounts of storage potential. Source: Bertram et al. (2021). — Map of global blue carbon stocks (in millions of tonnes of carbon), with yellow and green colours representing lower amounts of blue carbon storage potential and blues indicating higher amounts of storage potential. Source: Bertram et al. (2021)

Managing coastal vegetated ecosystems to enhance carbon sequestration, often referred to as “blue carbon”, represents a valuable nature-based strategy for mitigating climate change.

While the amount of carbon that is offset through these methods is estimated to be at least an order of magnitude below other mitigation approaches – such as ocean alkalinisation and direct carbon capture and storage – they have additional benefits.

These ecosystems also enhance adaptation by stabilising coastlines, safeguarding against erosion and storms, enhancing water quality and nurturing marine life – thus promoting biodiversity through the provision of shelter, food and nursery grounds.

Climate and biodiversity

Blue carbon is a prime example of how climate change and the alarming decline in global biodiversity are connected.

Initiatives focused on blue carbon restoration – such as the “Mangroves for Coastal Resilience” project in Indonesia, the largest such initiative in the world – not only enhance carbon sequestration, but also reverse habitat loss and bolster biodiversity. Safeguarding marine biodiversity can also help secure the long-term well-being and prosperity of people whose lives and livelihoods are tightly linked to the oceans.

For example, declines in marine biodiversity undermine ecosystem resilience, heightening vulnerability to environmental disturbances and impacting economies reliant on marine resources. Loss of species degrades the food webs underpinning fisheries, jeopardising food security and livelihoods.

Furthermore, biodiversity loss directly compromises human health by fostering the emergence of zoonotic diseases that pass from animals to humans, diminishing water quality and impeding the exploration of new pharmaceuticals and treatments.

Protecting communities

Coastal restoration projects are already being carried out around the world, from small, local projects to larger initiatives.

They also encompass a range of activities, from planting new mangrove trees to managing tidal flows.

There are several crucial factors that demand careful consideration before implementing such a project.

Among these is the need to prioritise the protection of intact ecosystems. By safeguarding these areas, we can prevent the loss of carbon they have already sequestered and sidestep the time lag associated with re-establishing vital ecosystem services following habitat restoration.

Additionally, it is imperative to address the underlying pressures contributing to ecosystem loss, such as sewage discharge and agricultural runoff.

Volunteers planting spartina grasses at a salt marsh restoration event, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Johann Schumacher / Alamy Stock Photo.

Restoration efforts must also be designed to withstand potential future challenges, such as changing land-use patterns and the projected impacts of climate change. Proactive measures to safeguard and restore coastal ecosystems should account for these complex and dynamic factors to ensure their long-term success and resilience in the face of ongoing environmental changes.

Local engagement and support for blue carbon initiatives are also needed because coastal communities often directly interact with these ecosystems for livelihoods, fishing, tourism and protection from natural disasters. Engaging these communities ensures that conservation efforts are sustainable. Additionally, tapping into the knowledge and expertise of local communities about coastal ecosystems is essential for informed decision-making.

Integrating carbon sequestration goals with other conservation and management objectives, such as sustainable fisheries and coastal resilience, is possible by empowering local communities to lead blue carbon initiatives. This can help ensure social equity, address economic opportunities and reduce conflicts over resource use.

Ultimately, garnering people’s buy-in for blue carbon solutions is essential for their effectiveness, sustainability and equitable distribution of benefits.

Considering marine sediment

Blue carbon “solutions” can be regarded as any intervention which aims to enhance the ocean’s natural capacity to store and sequester carbon.

As such, one might consider the management of commercial species and natural populations to increase the biomass of, and thereby carbon contained in, marine organisms. Managing interactions with the seabed can also be an important blue carbon solution.

Recent estimates suggest marine sediments are the largest store of organic carbon on the planet. Therefore, activities which disrupt them, such as bottom trawling or deep-sea mining, may be stirring up this sediment and leading to carbon being released back to the atmosphere.

Although the full picture has yet to emerge, examining the impacts of where and how trawling is conducted allows us to make choices informed by all of the potential impacts. And before deep-sea mining activities are further scaled up, a more comprehensive understanding of their impacts is vital.

The post Guest post: The role of ‘blue carbon’ in addressing climate change appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Guest post: The role of ‘blue carbon’ in addressing climate change

Greenhouse Gases

DeBriefed 13 February 2026: Trump repeals landmark ‘endangerment finding’ | China’s emissions flatlining | UK’s ‘relentless rain’

Published

2 days ago

February 13, 2026

Alice Rush

Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.

This week

Landmark ruling repealed

DANGER DANGER: The Trump administration formally repealed the US’s landmark “endangerment finding” this week, reported the Financial Times. The 2009 Obama-era finding concluded that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and has provided a legal basis for their regulation over the past two decades, said the New York Times.

RACE TO COURT: Multiple environmental groups have already threatened to sue over the administration’s decision, reported the Guardian. The fate of the ruling is likely to ultimately be decided by the Conservative-majority Supreme Court, explained the New York Times.

‘BEAUTIFUL CLEAN COAL’: Separately, Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring the Pentagon to buy coal-fired power, a move aimed to “revive a fuel source in sharp decline”, reported the Los Angeles Times. Despite his efforts,Trump has overseen more retirements of coal-fired power stations than any other US president, according to Carbon Brief analysis.

Around the world

CLIMATE TALKS: UN climate chief Simon Stiell said in a speech on Thursday that climate action can deliver stability in the face of a “new world disorder“ while on a visit to Turkey, which will host the COP31 climate summit later this year, reported BusinessGreen.
IBERIAN CATASTROPHE: A succession of storms that hit Spain and Portugal in recent weeks have caused millions of euros worth of damage to farmlands and required more than 11,000 people to leave their homes in Spain’s southern Andalusia region, said Reuters.
RISKY BUSINESS: The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a new report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), covered by Carbon Brief. Carbon Brief interviewed IPBES chair Dr David Obura at the report’s launch in Manchester.
CORAL BLEACHING: A study covered by Agence France-Presse found that more than half of the world’s coral reefs were bleached over a three-year period from 2014-17 during Earth’s third “global bleaching event”. The world has since entered a fourth bleaching event, starting in 2023, a scientist told AFP.
‘HELLISH HOTHOUSE EARTH’: In a commentary paper, scientists argued that the world is closer than thought to a “point of no return”, which could plunge Earth into a “hellish hothouse” state, reported the Guardian.

7.4 gigawatts

The record amount of solar, onshore wind and tidal power secured in the latest auction for new renewable capacity in the UK, reported Carbon Brief.

Latest climate research

Human-caused climate change made the hot, dry and windy weather in Chile and Argentina three times more likely | World Weather Attribution (Carbon Brief also covered the study)
“Early-life” exposure to extreme heat “increases risk” of neurodevelopmental delay in preschool children | Nature Climate Change
Climate change, urbanisation and species characteristics shape European butterfly population trends | Global Ecology and Biogeography

(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)

Captured

China's CO2 emissions have now been 'flat or falling' for 21 months DeBriefed chart

China’s carbon dioxide emissions have “now been flat or falling for 21 months”, analysis for Carbon Brief has found. The trend began in March 2024 and has lasted almost two years, due in particular to falling emissions in major sectors, including transport, power and cement, said the analysis. The analysis has been covered widely in global media, including Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, New York Times, BBC World Service and Channel 4 News.

Spotlight

UK’s ‘relentless rain’

This week, Carbon Brief takes a deep dive into the recent relentless rain and floods in the UK and explores how they could be linked to climate change.

It is no secret that it can rain a lot in the UK. But, in some parts of the country, it has rained every day of the year so far, according to Met Office data released this week.

In total, 26 stations set new monthly rainfall records for January. Northern Ireland experienced its wettest January for 149 years and Plymouth, in the south-west of England, experienced its wettest January day in 104 years.

Areas witnessing long periods of rain included Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, which has seen 41 consecutive days of rain “and counting”, reported the Guardian. The University of Reading found that its home town had its longest period of consecutive rain – 25 days – since its records for the city began in 1908.

The relentless rainfall has caused flooding in many parts of the country, particularly in rural areas.

There were more than 200 active flood alerts in place across England and Wales at the weekend, with flood warnings clustered around Gloucester and Worcester in the West Midlands, as well as Devon and Hampshire in southern England. A flood “alert” means that there is a possibility of flooding, while a “warning” means flooding is expected.

“Growing up, the road to my school never flooded. But the school has already had to close three times this year because of flooding,” Jess Powell, a local resident of a small village in Shropshire, told Carbon Brief.

Burst river bank of the river Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Credit: Alice Vernat-Davies

Climate link

While there has not yet been a formal analysis into the role of climate change in the UK’s current lengthy period of rain and flooding, it is known that human-caused warming can play a role in wet weather extremes, explained Dr Jess Neumann, a flooding researcher from the University of Reading. She told Carbon Brief:

“Warmer air can hold more moisture – about 7% more for every 1C of warming, increasing the chance of more frequent and at times, intense rainfall.”

The UK owes its rainy climate in large part due to the jet stream, which brings strong winds from west to east and pushes low-pressure weather systems across the Atlantic.

Scientists have said that one of the factors behind the UK’s relentless rain is the “blocking” of the jet stream, which occurs when winds slow, causing rainy weather patterns to get stuck.

The impact of climate change on the jet stream is complex, involving a lot of different factors. One theory, still subject to debate among scientists, is that Arctic warming could play a role, explained Neumann:

“As the Arctic warms faster than the tropics, the temperature gradient that fuels the jet stream weakens, causing it to become slower and wavier. Blocking patterns develop that can cause weather conditions to get stuck over the UK, increasing the likelihood of extreme rainfall and flooding.”

Adaptation needs

Long periods of rain saturate the ground and can have adverse impacts on agriculture and wildlife.

Prof Richard Betts, a leading climate scientist at the Met Office and the University of Exeter, said that these impacts can have harmful effects in rural areas:

“The climate change-driven increase in flood risk is impacting food production in the UK. In 2024, the production of wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape shrunk by 13% due to widespread flooding of farmland.

“Assistance with recovery after flooding is increasingly important – obviously, financial help via insurance and reinsurance is vital, but also action to reduce impacts on mental health is increasingly important. It’s very stressful dealing with the impacts of flooding and this is often not recognised.”

One key adaptation for floods in the UK could be to “integrate natural flood management, including sustainable urban drainage, with more traditional hard engineering techniques”, added Neumann:

“Most importantly, we need to improve our communication of flood risk to help individuals and communities know how to prepare. We need to shift our thinking from ‘keeping water out’ to ‘living with water’, if we want to adapt better to a future of flooding.”

Watch, read, listen

‘IRREVERSIBLE TREND?’: The Guardian explored how Romania’s emissions have fallen by 75% since the 1990s and have been decoupled from the country’s economic growth.

UNDER THE SEA: An article in BioGraphic explored whether the skeletons of dead corals “help or hinder recovery” on bleached reefs.

SPEEDING UP: Through dynamic charts, the Washington Post showed how climate change is accelerating.

Coming up

16-19 February: Sixth meeting of the subsidiary body on implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Rome, Italy
20 February: Webinar on the key findings from the International Energy Agency policy brief: the value of demand flexibility: benefits beyond balancing
20 February: UN day of social justice
22-27 February: Ocean Sciences Meeting, Glasgow, UK

Pick of the jobs

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), national senior climate change expert | Salary: Unknown. Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
British Antarctic Survey, marine biologist | Salary: £31,183. Location: Antarctica
Green Climate Fund, regional lead for resource mobilisation – Europe | Salary: $109,000. Location: Seoul, South Korea
Scientific American, documentary film proposals | Up to $80,000 per commissioned film

DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

The post DeBriefed 13 February 2026: Trump repeals landmark ‘endangerment finding’ | China’s emissions flatlining | UK’s ‘relentless rain’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.

DeBriefed 13 February 2026: Trump repeals landmark ‘endangerment finding’ | China’s emissions flatlining | UK’s ‘relentless rain’

Greenhouse Gases

EPA move shows urgent need for congressional climate action

Published

3 days ago

February 12, 2026

Alice Rush

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CCLlonglogo for PRs

EPA move shows urgent need for congressional climate action

February 12, 2026 – The EPA has finalized its proposal to rescind its 2009 determination that climate pollution endangers public health and welfare, also known as the “endangerment finding.” The EPA’s primary argument is based on a reinterpretation of Congress’ intent under the Clean Air Act for the EPA to broadly regulate pollutants.

As a reminder, the endangerment finding provides the legal foundation under the Clean Air Act for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. Without it, the EPA would lack clear authority under that statute to regulate emissions from sources like vehicle tailpipes and certain industrial facilities.

It’s worth noting that the vast majority of emissions reductions in the U.S. to date have resulted from cleaner energy sources replacing coal, as a result not of federal regulations, but of market forces as clean technologies became cheap.

Still, over half a million public comments were submitted on the EPA’s draft rule, including a formal comment from CCL that emphasized EPA’s mandate from Congress to regulate climate pollution.

Today’s decision reveals in stark terms that regulations alone are not a reliable path to enduring climate action. Federal regulations and executive orders tend to be temporary, shifting with each new presidential administration.

“It’s simply not enough for Congress to direct an agency to regulate climate pollution — Congress needs to pass laws that actively shift our economy toward clean energy, whether through carbon pricing, faster energy permitting processes, or other policy tools like the ones we advocate for here at Citizens’ Climate Lobby,” said Jennifer Tyler, CCL’s Vice President of Government Affairs.

That’s why CCL’s focus remains on working with lawmakers to pass lasting climate solutions.

“Legislative action provides durable policy that will drive the deep, long-term emissions reductions we need. That’s especially true when Members of Congress from both parties work together on solutions, as we urge them to,” Tyler added.

The EPA’s decision will next be challenged in the courts, a process that will likely take several years and may ultimately reach the Supreme Court. CCL appreciates that our allies in the climate space are equipped to fight on this particular battlefront and will be bringing these lawsuits.

“CCLers will continue to work together — across the aisle and across the country — to build political will for effective climate solutions in Congress,” affirmed Ricky Bradley, CCL’s Executive Director.

CONTACT: Flannery Winchester, CCL Vice President of Marketing and Communications, 615-337-3642, flannery@citizensclimate.org

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Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. Learn more at citizensclimatelobby.org.

The post EPA move shows urgent need for congressional climate action appeared first on Citizens' Climate Lobby.

EPA move shows urgent need for congressional climate action

Greenhouse Gases

Analysis: Trump has overseen more coal retirements than any other US president

Published

3 days ago

February 12, 2026

Alice Rush

Donald Trump has overseen more retirements of coal-fired power stations than any other US president, according to Carbon Brief analysis.

His administration’s latest efforts to roll back US climate policy have been presented by interior secretary Doug Burgum as an opportunity to revive “clean, beautiful, American coal”.

The administration is in the process of attempting to repeal the 2009 “endangerment” finding, which is the legal underpinning of many federal climate regulations.

On 11 February, the White House issued an executive order on “America’s beautiful clean coal power generation fleet”, calling for government contracts and subsidies to keep plants open.

On the same day, Trump was presented with a trophy by coal-mining executives declaring him to be the “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal”.

These words are in sharp contrast to Trump’s record in office, with more coal-fired power plants having retired under his leadership than any other president, as shown in the figure below.

This is because coal plants have been uneconomic to operate compared with cheaper gas and renewables – and because most of the US coal fleet is extremely old.

A blue and red bar chart on a white background shpwing that Trump has overseen more coal retirements than any other US president. The chart shows that Biden oversaw 41 coal retirements, Obama 48, and Trump 57. — Capacity of coal-fired power plants retiring under recent US presidents, gigawatts (GW). Source: Carbon Brief analysis of data from Global Energy Monitor.

In total, some 57 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity has already been retired during Trump’s first and second terms in office, compared with 48GW under Obama’s two full terms and 41GW under Biden’s single term.

Even in relative terms, the US has lost a larger proportion of its remaining coal fleet for each year of Trump’s presidencies than for either of his recent predecessors.

Trump’s record hints at the many practical and economic factors that have driven US coal closures, regardless of the preferences of the president of the day.

Indeed, Trump made various efforts to prop up coal power during his first term in office. These were ultimately unsuccessful, as the figure below illustrates.

Coal-fired power capacity in the US, GW. Source: Global Energy Monitor.

Coal plants have been retiring in large numbers over the past 20 years because they were uneconomic relative to cheaper sources of electricity, including renewables and gas.

These unfavourable market conditions, alongside air pollution regulations unrelated to climate change, have resulted in a steady parade of coal closures under successive presidents.

By 2024, wind and solar were generating more electricity in the US than coal.

More recently, analysis from the US Energy Information Administration shows that surging power prices have improved the economics of both coal and gas-fired power plants.

These rising prices have been driven by increasing demand, including from data centres, and by higher gas prices, due to increasing exports at liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

These factors saw coal-power output increase by 13% year-on-year in 2025, only the second rise in a decade of steady decline for the fuel, according to the Rhodium Group.

Nevertheless, many utilities have still been looking to shutter their ageing coal-fired power plants.

The vast majority of US coal plants are nearing retirement. Three-quarters of US coal capacity is more than four decades old and only 14% is less than 20 years old, as shown in the figure below.

Capacity of US coal plants by age group, GW. Source: Global Energy Monitor.

In response, the Trump administration has recently invoked legislation designed for wartime emergencies to force a number of uneconomic coal plants to remain open.

Despite Trump’s efforts, clean energy made up 96% of the new electricity generation capacity added to the US grid in 2025. None of the new capacity came from coal power.