Blue Carbon: From Science to Public Policy, Towards Carbon Neutrality in Coastal Territories

In the context of climate emergency and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the issue of blue carbon today constitutes a major strategic opportunity for supporting local authorities and public actors in the adaptation of territories.

Since 2019, La Rochelle, a coastal city in western France committed to a zero-carbon territory objective, has addressed this issue by developing a three-part approach: 1) evaluating the carbon capture and sequestration capacities of humid and coastal environments (slikkes, shores, seagrass beds, salt marshes, wet prairies, etc.), particularly in the context of erosion dynamics, sea-level rise, and coastal protection; 2) developing decision-support and management tools for local authorities; and 3) initiating awareness-raising and support for actors on these themes.

These subjects remain emerging at the national level, even though they present strong potential for coastal regions. La Rochelle today appears as a pioneering territory on the issue of blue carbon.

In this context, La Rochelle Université is organizing an international conference, “Blue Carbon: From Science to Public Decisions, to Achieve Carbon Neutrality in Coastal Territories,” which aims to bring together the scientific community and local stakeholders (local authorities, managers, institutions, and partners) involved in the conservation and sustainable management of coastal ecosystems that contribute to blue carbon storage.

This meeting will provide an opportunity to: (1) review the state of the art on blue carbon ecosystems; (2) visit these ecosystems in the La Rochelle area; and (3) bring together academic and non-academic communities through workshops to share experiences, innovations, and participatory governance initiatives related to blue carbon, and to identify priorities for future research and implementation.

The conference will include a range of formats, including scientific presentations, workshops, roundtables, and a full day of field visits, with the aim of fostering practical exchanges among researchers, local authorities, and managers on this major issue.