Integrating Blue Carbon Ecosystems under the EU LULUCF Regulation: new policy brief launched

The JPI Oceans Blue Carbon Knowledge Hub is pleased to announce the publication of its second policy brief: ‘Pathways and opportunities for a better policy integration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems under the EU LULUCF Regulation’. This Knowledge Hub is led by Ireland with participation from Germany, Greece, Malta, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

The brief was developed by the Knowledge Hub’s Policy Working Group, and it provides targeted recommendations for a better policy integration of blue carbon ecosystems under the EU Land Use and Land Cover Change Framework (LULUCF) Regulation. These blue carbon ecosystems, primarily seagrass meadows, salt marshes and mangrove forests, are classified as ‘coastal wetlands’ in the Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands. 

The LULUCF Regulation is central to ensuring that blue carbon ecosystems are fully accounted for in the EU’s climate framework. Strengthening its implementation will help integrate coastal wetlands into greenhouse gas inventories, improving recognition of their role in carbon sequestration and long-term climate mitigation.

The protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems for climate change mitigation aligns closely with the objectives of the EU LULUCF Regulation, which aims to enhance carbon removals and reduce emissions from land use and land-cover change. Implementing these recommendations would support EU Member States in accounting for coastal wetlands within their greenhouse gas inventories, strengthening the role of blue carbon in achieving EU climate targets and contributing to long-term carbon neutrality goals.

This is the second in a series of three briefs by the JPI Oceans Blue Carbon Knowledge Hub, designed to support EU policymakers and stakeholders in incorporating blue carbon ecosystems into major European regulatory frameworks.

The first brief, published in June 2025 and launched at the UN Ocean Decade Conference in Nice, focused on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), a cornerstone policy for the development of a common EU approach to blue carbon.

The third and final brief to be released later this year will focus on the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR). It will provide guidance on the inclusion of blue carbon in national restoration plans and supporting implementation of the regulation. 

The broader objective of the JPI Oceans Blue Carbon Policy Working Group is to advance actionable and science-based recommendations that support the monitoring, protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems as part of Europe’s climate and biodiversity ambitions.