Summary/Abstract
This bill establishes the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon and sets targets for the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems. The term ‘‘coastal blue carbon ecosystems’’ is defined in the legislation as vegetated coastal habitats, including mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrasses, kelp forests, and other tidal or saltwater wetlands, that have the ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, accumulate carbon in biomass for years to decades, and store carbon in soils for centuries to millennia.
The bill also directs the National Academies to study the potential for carbon storage in deep seafloor environments and assess available technologies and pathways to remove CO2 directly from the ocean through engineered or inorganic processes. The study would also consider the viability of utilizing kelp farming and coastal wetland restoration for carbon sequestration, including assessing what would be required to develop markets around blue carbon.