High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance

The World Economic Forum's guide defines high-quality blue carbon as nature-based solutions in coastal and marine ecosystems—specifically mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes—that measurably reduce climate change impacts. It proposes five core principles: Safeguard Nature, Empower People, Employ the best information, interventions, and carbon accounting practices, Operate Locally and Contextually, and Mobilize High-integrity Capital. The guidance emphasizes the necessity of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), the use of science-based ecological protocols, and the implementation of adaptive management to address marine-specific risks like sea level rise. It also provides recommendations for buyers, investors, developers, and governments to ensure that carbon credits are additional to internal emissions reductions and provide equitable benefit-sharing for local communities.

• High-quality blue carbon projects are defined as those that optimize outcomes for people, nature, and climate by sequestering carbon with high fidelity, restoring ecological integrity, and enabling equitable participation for local and Indigenous communities in the voluntary carbon market.
• The document identifies five equal principles for high-quality blue carbon: Safeguarding Nature, Empowering People, Employing the best information/interventions/accounting, Operating Locally and Contextually, and Mobilizing High-integrity Capital.
• Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is established as a fundamental right and a mandatory first step for any blue carbon project, granting communities the power to withhold or withdraw consent at any point.
• Blue carbon projects face specific marine risks that threaten durability, including sea level rise and fall, ocean temperature changes, and extreme storms, requiring the use of scientific models to estimate durability horizons.
• To mitigate risks of reversal, the document recommends a "ridge-to-reef" or seascape approach, where protecting neighboring ecosystems (such as coral reefs or upland forests) enhances the resilience of the blue carbon ecosystem.
• Conservation projects are generally less expensive and provide more credits due to existing high carbon stocks, but demonstrating additionality is more difficult than in restoration projects.
• Restoration projects involve longer timelines for carbon removal and higher costs due to requirements for hydrological engineering and planting, and they must account for both removals and avoided emissions from carbon-rich soil.
• The document distinguishes between ex post credits (actual earned and validated credits) and ex ante credits (estimates of future work), noting that while ex post are preferred, ex ante credits can provide essential upfront capital for communities.
• High-quality projects must ensure transparent benefit-sharing arrangements that are negotiated before the sale of credits and clearly disclose the revenue flowing to communities.
• Buyers and investors are urged to ensure that the purchase of carbon credits is an addition to, not a substitute for, their own direct and value chain emissions reductions based on science-based targets.

APA

World Economic Forum (n.d.). High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HC_Blue_Carbon_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance. n.d. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HC_Blue_Carbon_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HC_Blue_Carbon_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforumndhighquality, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HC_Blue_Carbon_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }