Unlocking the Potential of Blue Carbon Ecosystems Through National Climate Policy

This paper discusses the urgent need to integrate blue carbon ecosystems into national climate strategies through NDCs and NAPs. While science and practice have advanced, countries face data and institutional barriers that limit systematic inclusion. To address this, the paper introduces the four-stage BLUE framework (Build, Link, Unlock, and Embed) providing policymakers and partners with a flexible, stepwise approach to overcome challenges and scale effective conservation and restoration efforts.