Abstract
This Article explores the emerging law of blue carbon, defined as rules governing human interventions into Earth’s marine carbon cycles. Blue carbon law is of growing importance today as pressure mounts to incorporate coastal conservation and restoration activities into market-based carbon sequestration schemes, and as the planet’s deep oceans are evaluated for their carbon sequestration potential. The Article conceptualizes two broad trends in blue carbon law: the international law of carbon credit markets creating incentives to commodify and monetize blue carbon resources; and the responsive integration of commodification concepts into existing laws that already manage and influence blue carbon systems. In the United States, the rise of blue carbon appears to be posing a fundamental challenge to long-established international norms and rules for carbon crediting, as U.S. state actors are increasingly pushing to qualify for carbon finance for existing conservation activities. These developments, in turn, raise questions about the valuation of mandated conservation and the potential for the carbon market system to compensate the maintenance and protection of ecosystem services.
Repository Citation
Adam D. Orford,
Blue Carbon Law
, 13 Sea Grant L. & Pol'y 9
(2024),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1610
Previously posted on SSRN.