YINTAI

Editor's note: China Environment News recently interviewed Shen Guojun, CPPCC National Committee member, and Founder and Chairman of Yintai Group, and published an article entitled, Committee member Shen Guojun: Elevate the status of blue carbon in the national “carbon neutral” strategy. The following is the full text of the report.

During the two sessions period, Shen, who is a CPPCC National Committee member, as well as Founder and Chairman of Yintai Group, and Executive Chairman of The Paradise International Foundation submitted the Proposal for Elevating the Status of Blue Carbon in the National “Carbon Neutral” Strategy. Shen believed that the marine ecosystem and “blue carbon” should play a critical role in global climate change, and elevating the strategic position of blue carbon in achieving China’s “carbon neutrality” was imperative.

Blue carbon had gained increasing attention in China recently, but problems and challenges still prevailed in terms of inadequate development of measurement methodology and lack of trading channels for blue carbon, as well as pending improvement in the development and research capabilities for blue carbon projects.

To further enhance the nation’s marine ecological conservation and restoration work, China should achieve its NDC pledge of “carbon neutrality” as soon as possible. Committee member Shen said that including blue carbon into China’s NDC would make it a part of the system of climate change policies, and guide and encourage Chinese enterprises and institutions to regard blue carbon as a key route to attaining “carbon neutrality”.

He recommended incorporating blue carbon into China’s NDC in the national carbon market by way of scientific evaluation and corresponding procedures. It should also be part of the offset mechanism for the national carbon emission trading scheme and voluntary emission reduction trade so that marine and coastal biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration could be promoted by way of market oriented mechanisms and incentives.

Sophisticated blue carbon methodologies that convert certified CO2 emission reduction credits from marine and coastal biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration into tradable blue carbon already exist internationally. China, however, is still lagging in this respect, and conducting evaluation and certification of relevant projects have been a challenge.

Committee member Shen advised putting together scientific research capabilities as soon as possible, and by learning from others as well as relevant procedures, blue carbon methodologies in line with the national conditions of China should be developed to narrow the gap in terms of trading methods.

He also advised enhancing international exchange and collaboration in the area of blue carbon, strengthening the dissemination of scientific knowledge of blue carbon, and setting up publicity events on blue carbon and “carbon neutral” at the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) to publicize the Chinese government’s measures on marine conservation and response to climate change to the international community.

It is understood that blue carbon, as a major force in the process of climate change and the global carbon cycle, is becoming an aggregation point of popular global governance methods for addressing climate change and biodiversity protection and sustainable development.