Sovacool et al. (2024): The sociotechnical dynamics of blue carbon management: Testing typologies of ideographs, innovation, and co-impacts for marine carbon removal
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Chad M. Baum, Sean Low, Livia Fritz IN: Environmental Science & Policy, 155, 103730, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103730
Blue carbon, the preservation and enhancement of marine and coastal ecosystems for carbon removal, is treated as a potentially cost-effective way to capture and store carbon, generate community co-benefits, and implement conservation and climate agendas. However, blue carbon ecosystems are among the most unproven climate intervention options, in part given their status as highly threatened systems which moreover have critical connections to planetary health and food security. Based on extensive place-based field research and document analysis, this study examines three blue carbon innovations: coral reef preservation in Australia, seagrass restoration in the United Kingdom, and macroalgae (seaweed) cultivation and deep ocean storage in the United States. Empirically, it utilizes an extensive, original dataset of expert interviews (N=46), site visits (N=38) and document analysis undertaken over late 2022 and 2023.