ABS Great Barrier Reef data shows 196 million tonnes of carbon stored in blue carbon ecosystems

spatialsource.com.au

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released experimental ecosystem accounts for the Great Barrier Reef, covering the 2022-23 financial year. The data includes estimates of carbon storage and sequestration across mangroves, seagrass meadows, and saltmarsh. These blue carbon ecosystems stored 196 million tonnes of carbon, valued at $337 million, with 2.56 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent sequestered over the year. Mangroves held the largest share of stored carbon at 160.7 million tonnes (82 percent), followed by seagrass at 28 million tonnes and saltmarsh at 7.2 million tonnes. The accounts also map the extent of photic coral reefs and seagrass meadows. While still experimental, the data shows progress in national ecosystem accounting and provides a baseline for tracking carbon in coastal environments.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see the ABS putting dollar values on carbon stored in mangroves and seagrass. 337 million for 196 million tonnes. That is a pretty low price per tonne compared to voluntary carbon markets. Wonder if they are using a social cost of carbon or something else.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Clean_tech_44, the article doesn't specify the valuation method. But if they used the Australian government's official carbon price (around $20-30 per tonne), 337 million for 196 million tonnes would be about $1.72 per tonne. That is way below market rates for blue carbon credits.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The valuation seems to be based on the Australian government's official carbon price or a shadow price. Would be useful if the article explained the methodology. Otherwise the dollar figure is hard to compare with actual project revenue.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Blue carbon accounting is still pretty experimental. The ABS says these are experimental estimates themselves. Good to see them trying, but the sequestration rate of 2.56 MtCO2e per year for the whole reef area seems modest compared to what a single large solar farm displaces.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The real value of these accounts is the spatial data and the baseline. If you want to run a blue carbon project on the reef, you now have a government-backed starting point for carbon stocks. That reduces uncertainty for project developers.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Mangroves storing 82 percent of the carbon. That is a clear signal for where to focus restoration and protection efforts. Cape York region holding the most carbon also makes sense given the limited development up there.