Last week, Vale of Clwyd MS, Gareth Davies spoke in a Senedd debate on the conservation of marine wildlife and sea grass he placed blue carbon at the heart of the discussion as to how we combat the climate and nature crisis in Wales. His contribution follows World Ocean Day, and the alarming report published by the Climate Change Committee which proves that Wales is falling behind on actions needed to fight climate change.
Commenting on his speech, Vale of Clwyd MS, Gareth Davies said:
"The potential of marine ecosystems to sequester carbon is astounding. In Wales alone, the top 10cm of marine sediments hold a staggering 113 million tonnes of carbon, surpassing the carbon content of Welsh forests by nearly 170%.
"Consider this, a single square meter of seagrass can capture three times the carbon compared to an equivalent area of rainforest, and a remarkable ten times more than grasslands. Moreover, saltmarshes have the capacity to sequester more carbon than forests, exceeding them by at least 1.5 times.
"It’s abundantly clear that safeguarding and enhancing our precious marine blue carbon habitats is of utmost importance. Therefore, I will steadfastly advocate for the implementation of a comprehensive Blue Carbon Recovery Plan for Wales and a National Marine Development Plan."
