Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Thursday, April 21, 2022

Official Report 1080KB pdf

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Blue Carbon

The next item of business is a statement by Màiri McAllan on progressing Scotland’s leadership on blue carbon. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.

14:57  

I am glad to deliver this statement setting out how this Government is progressing Scotland’s leadership on blue carbon, which is a critical climate policy.

The global ocean life-support system produces 50 per cent of the world’s oxygen and absorbs 23 per cent of man-made CO₂ emissions and 90 per cent of the excess heat created by man-made greenhouse gases. It is also the world’s largest store of carbon, with 93 per cent of the earth’s CO₂ stored in and cycled through marine ecosystems.

Oceans are therefore critical in the global fight against climate change, and Scotland has a great deal to offer here. Scotland has almost six times more sea than land, and our seas play an essential role in all of our lives. They regulate our climate and support a rich biodiversity, and, in turn, they support our economy, wellbeing, culture and heritage—especially for our coastal and island communities.

The 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—highlighted the centrality of the ocean in tackling the twin nature and climate crises. In particular, it highlighted the potential contribution of blue carbon habitats as a marine nature-based solution. COP26 also shone the spotlight on the climate change impacts that are already being observed in the marine environment, including ocean acidification, sea-level rise and coastal erosion.

Blue carbon is a relatively new concept, at least in public discourse. It refers to the carbon that is captured and stored in marine and coastal ecosystems, which has been accumulated over great swathes of time through natural processes. Blue carbon habitats include, but are not limited to, salt marshes, seagrasses, kelp beds and biogenic reefs, as well as so-called geological sedimentary stores such as sea-floor and sea-loch sediments. Blue carbon habitats store globally significant amounts of carbon and represent important long-term natural carbon stores.

As well as locking up carbon, those habitats provide ecosystem services, supporting biodiversity, providing nursery beds for fish species and providing coastal protection, for example from flooding. Many of the key habitats and species that research is identifying as being important for blue carbon are priority marine features and therefore are already recognised in Scotland’s marine protected area network.

However, as with much in the marine world, recognition and understanding of these complex systems is somewhat behind the understanding of terrestrial carbon stores. The Scottish Government recognised that early and, given the climate emergency and the size and importance of our maritime zone, in 2018 we established the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum to help us to identify Scotland’s blue carbon habitats and understand their value, as well as their vulnerability to human and environmental pressures. Our blue carbon research programme, which we developed in partnership with NatureScot, the Scottish Association for Marine Science and St Andrews, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Stirling and Napier universities, has put Scotland at the forefront of blue carbon research in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Since 2018, we have invested more than £650,000 to support projects to grow the blue carbon evidence and skills base in Scotland and ensure that we use that wealth of knowledge to inform decision making. Thanks to our early, collaborative action, we now know that, together, our blue carbon habitats store roughly the same amount of carbon as Scotland’s land-based ecosystems, such as peatlands, forestry and soils. We know that our coastal blue carbon ecosystems—specifically seagrasses and salt marshes—are highly efficient natural carbon sinks on a per area basis. We have a detailed assessment of the carbon stored in our salt marsh habitats and an increasingly complete map of our seagrass habitats, which includes the identification of potential sites for restoration. That work has been made possible, in part, by a drone funded by the Scottish Government.

We have led work to identify Scotland’s blue carbon hotspots and have invested £200,000, through the nature restoration fund, to develop a specialist blue carbon laboratory at the University of St Andrews. We have also recently published work that maps the quantity and quality of sea-shelf carbon stocks in the UK’s exclusive economic zone. That collaborative work, which we moved early to develop, has proved invaluable.

Recent developments elsewhere highlight the growing importance of blue carbon. I recently welcomed the publication of the United Kingdom Climate Change Committee report on blue carbon, which gave a balanced assessment of the current evidence base and outlined the small but important climate mitigation potential; the significant co-benefits of those habitats for climate adaptation, resilience and biodiversity; and the importance of continuing to improve our understanding of how those habitats function, how they are impacted by human pressures and how that affects their ability to sequester and store carbon. I am pleased that the Scottish Government, with the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum, has already been taking action to address many of the report’s recommendations.

The Climate Change Committee identified gaps in scientific knowledge. Our forum’s leadership is already helping us to progress many of those knowledge gaps in Scotland and more widely across the UK, including through our support for the new cross-UK blue carbon evidence partnership, which will help to accelerate the blue carbon actions required at a UK level, including inclusion of salt marsh and seagrass in the UK greenhouse gas inventory, which was a key recommendation of the Climate Change Committee report. Inclusion of salt marsh in the inventory—and, as evidence develops, seagrass—would be a step change in how blue carbon is viewed, and is critical to attracting future investment and driving restoration, in a way that is similar to what we have seen with peatland restoration following its inclusion in the inventory.

The unique contribution of the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum deserves much recognition. Not only has it developed understanding but it has done so by leading the way internationally. It has also actively helped to encourage and shape other forums. I put on record my sincere thanks to everybody involved in the forum. Its future programme will consider how to minimise the vulnerability to human activities of our blue carbon stores.

The forum’s programme will also include support for our ambitious marine protection programme in Scotland, which is part of our shared policy agenda with the Scottish Green Party. On that, we are starting from a strong base: 37 per cent of Scotland’s seas are already designated within marine protected areas. We will complete the management measures within the MPA network by 2024 and, separately, we have committed to designate at least 10 per cent of our inshore and offshore waters as highly protected marine areas, in which there will be no extractive activity by 2026. That is a world-leading commitment to protect our marine environment; blue carbon will be used as one of the key criteria for site selection.

As well as building our own knowledge base and encouraging UK partnerships, we are continuing to develop international connections as part of our COP26 legacy.

Scotland’s role as a global leader has never been more evident than during COP26, at which the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum hosted an international conference of experts. In recognition of our ambitious programme, Scotland’s forum was invited to join the International Partnership for Blue Carbon, which has expanded to comprise 51 members globally since its establishment at COP21 in Paris.

The climate and nature emergencies present an existential threat to this planet and all life on it. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been clear that it is now or never to limit global warming to 1.5°. In Scotland, this Parliament has moved to pass some of the most robust climate mitigation laws in the world, and it is now our job to deliver on those. We are also committed to treating the climate emergency on a twin-crises basis with ecological decline, and we will legislate for nature recovery targets in the current session of Parliament.

Scotland is a maritime nation. We have more sea than land, and we have moved quickly to become an international front-runner, but we will not stop here. That is why I am delighted to announce today the launch of our COP26 commitment—the blue carbon international policy challenge, which will provide seed funding for five policy challenge projects, with the intention to establish blueprints for international and domestic policy action.

The challenge topics are wide ranging, and the challenge will bring the global community together to learn and share knowledge and best practice in order to accelerate delivery of our climate change ambitions, both in Scotland and with our partner countries. As I launch the challenge, I encourage blue carbon research and policy specialists to apply.

We know that climate change is a global emergency that requires urgent global action, and international collaborations have a critical role to play in bringing us together to work towards a common goal. In fact, the interconnectedness of the ocean is a great symbol of the imperative of co-operation.

The blueprints from the policy challenge that I have announced today will provide a vital link between our COP26 and COP27 blue carbon ambitions, both delivering at home in Scotland and demonstrating our commitment as an outward-looking nation and proactive partner for ambitious marine climate action around the globe.

The minister will now take questions on the issues that were raised in her statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for that, after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. I urge members who wish to ask a question to press their request-to-speak buttons as soon as possible, if they have not already done so.

I thank the minister for early sight of her statement. However, the fact that I could have watched the opening few minutes of an episode of “The Blue Planet” and got the same information suggests that blue carbon is only just coming on to the Scottish Government’s radar.

Given that 93 per cent of the world’s CO₂ is held in the marine environment—in sediment, kelp, seagrass, salt marshes, maerl beds and biogenic reefs—it is essential that, in our drive to net zero, the marine environment and specifically blue carbon sequestration are given much greater emphasis. The destruction of our offshore environments is certainly not given the same level of attention as the destruction of those that are onshore.

Good policy requires good scientific data. I note the minister’s statement that the Scottish Government has invested £650,000 since 2018 to grow the blue carbon evidence and skills base, but that amounts to little over £160,000 a year—or, to put it another way, two months’ salary for the boss of Ferguson Marine. Does the minister agree that there is a need for a huge increase in investment in data collection to bring blue carbon investment up to the same level as that for on-land carbon capture, such as peatland restoration?

Secondly, exactly how much money will the Scottish Government commit to the seed funding in the blue carbon international policy challenge?

Thirdly, a Scottish Parliament information centre briefing suggests that there is no evidence that climate change has been considered in the designation of current and proposed marine protected areas. Will the Scottish Government address that in its blue carbon policy in order to protect significant marine habitats?

I think that it is really rather cynical for Brian Whittle to suggest that this is just coming on to the Scottish Government’s radar. I cannot help but feel that he perhaps did not listen to the statement, because the whole thing was about how Scotland has been a pioneer in this area, both in the UK and internationally.

However, he is absolutely right to say that scientific data is key. We recognise that there are gaps in the evidence base. We recognised that in 2018 when we set up the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum, and the Climate Change Committee has equally recognised that there are gaps in the evidence base. Evidence is key to driving policy and investment. That is exactly why we have the forum and it is exactly why I am launching the policy challenge today. To provide the detail about the challenge that Mr Whittle asked for, the total sum for the next year will be £50,000; up to £10,000 per topic for five applications.

Mr Whittle’s final point, which was his suggestion that climate change has not been taken into account during the process of designating marine protected areas, when the entire raison d’être of those areas is climate change, is flatly wrong.

I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement.

How can we take the Scottish Government’s commitment to net zero seriously when it repeatedly misses its climate targets, and then releases a statement like today’s about something that it has already announced but has failed to do?

I will explain. In November last year, the blue carbon international policy challenge that the minister has just announced was announced by another minister. I have here the press release from November, which states that the policy challenge will run from January to March 2022. Well, we are now in April 2022, so why was the challenge delayed? What is the new timeline? Why was that information not included in the statement?

The Scottish Government has also previously committed to provide £150,000 through the nature restoration fund to support the establishment of specialist blue carbon research. Applications closed earlier this month for the second round of the nature restoration fund. Is the minister able to update us on whether any applications relating to blue carbon research were received and, if so, how they are being progressed? If no applications have been received, when does the minister envisage that that £150,000 that was reserved for blue carbon research will be allocated?

Finally, the minister referred to the Scottish Government’s pledge that it will designate at least 10 per cent of Scotland’s seas as highly protected marine areas by 2026, with blue carbon protection being one of the criteria that will be used to identify sites. Can the minister give an update on what progress has been made in selecting sites for highly protected marine areas to ensure blue carbon protection?

I will take each of those issues in turn.

It is quite simple. I do not think that Mercedes Villalba has uncovered some great secret, as she seems to think that she has. We said at COP26 what we would do, and I am doing that today. I am launching the challenge and the terms of the challenge today, as well as the five project areas, which we have been developing since we said at COP26 that we would do this. It is really not a controversy.

I will not pre-empt the results of the applications from the nature restoration fund. My colleague Lorna Slater is overseeing that fund, which seeks to fund projects from our marine environment. I hope that there will be applications.

With my officials, I am currently working on the site selection protocol for the highly protected marine areas and I am not able to speak to the detail of that yet. However, the protocol will consider the imperative of environmental protection and, equally, socio-economic factors for our fishing and coastal communities.

Marine ecosystems have historically suffered degradation from human activity. What adaptations to our current relationship with Scotland’s seas and oceans will potentially be necessary in order to realise the full environmental potential of our blue carbon stores?

As was highlighted in the recent Climate Change Committee report on blue carbon, which I mentioned in my statement, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge of how those habitats function and the impact of human pressures on them, which is important. The Scottish Blue Carbon Forum’s research continues to help us to address those gaps and to build a stronger picture of how blue carbon habitats can help us to meet both our climate and our biodiversity ambitions.

However, we are not starting from zero: many of the species and habitats that research is identifying as being key for blue carbon are already priority marine features within our MPA network. As I have already said, we will move to designate 10 per cent of our waters, both inshore and offshore, as highly protected marine areas by 2026. In doing that, we will draw on evidence from the Blue Carbon Forum.

The minister rightly highlights the vital role that research by Scottish universities will play in developing blue carbon opportunities. She referred in her statement to £650,000 that will be allocated to support that research, which is all good stuff. However, that figure must be seen in the wider context of the funding cuts that Scottish universities have been subject to, which mean that today, research studies by Scottish universities are being carried out at a loss of £300 million a year, according to the Scottish Funding Council.

Does the minister recognise that the funding that she has announced for blue carbon research is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the massive cuts that her Government has imposed on Scottish universities?

I appreciate the pun from Mr Lockhart but I do not agree that it is a drop in the ocean. From my perspective, it is a new and important area of scientific research. It is fundamental to Scotland, given our maritime zone. With my responsibilities, it is up to me to ensure that it gets the funding that is required to drive forward that progress. Given the successes of the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum to date, I am comfortable with that.

I note that, as the minister says, Scotland is perceived to be a leader in blue carbon. Will she say anything about the UK’s position and whether there is any risk to Scotland’s leadership from the UK not pulling its weight?

The Scottish Government is proud of the role that we are playing on carbon research in the waters around Scotland and the UK and, indeed, is proud of our international contribution. Although we are leading, we see no lack of interest in our work from others in the north-east Atlantic sea basin, including our European neighbours. I am glad to have set an example for the UK and beyond. The Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive are now following our lead.

Delivering on our commitment to HPMAs in offshore waters will require collaboration with the UK Government, as the powers for that are reserved. I will, of course, seek that collaboration and I expect it, but would far rather that those powers were in this Parliament’s hands.

Although any investment in our vital blue carbon is welcome, does the minister share concerns that we might see in our seas what we have seen on land, which is some big businesses—so-called green lairds—investing in huge swathes of land for forestry to offset their excessive carbon footprints rather than taking responsibility for reducing their emissions? It could be argued that that might leverage badly needed investment to support projects in our seas, especially given the modest Government investment, but does the minister agree that that is not an alternative to genuine emissions reduction by big business?

I thank Colin Smyth for that pertinent question. It is absolutely true that, as the centrality of our natural environment—be it the terrestrial or maritime environment—to our work on the climate and nature emergencies becomes clearer, so does the investment opportunity that is linked to it. I mentioned in my statement that, in the marine zone, we are somewhat behind terrestrial developments but, when it comes to development in the marine environment, we will need to be as mindful of the responsibilities of those who are investing in it as we are in the terrestrial zone.

In the programme for government, the Scottish ministers committed to designating at least 10 per cent of Scotland’s seas as highly protected marine areas by 2026, which the minister reiterated. How will the policy and selection framework for HPMAs ensure the protection of blue carbon habitats, and how will that process be taken forward to help to secure a just transition to net zero?

NatureScot and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee are currently developing the site-selection guidelines for HPMAs. I made a commitment to Mercedes Villalba to keep Parliament up to date on that; I repeat that to Mr Gibson.

Regarding management of the process, as I said, socioeconomic factors that affect the resilience and viability of marine industries, and our coastal communities that depend on them, will be taken into account in the selection and designation process for HPMAs. We must ensure that we do not leave marine industries, or our coastal communities that rely on them, high and dry. Indeed, marine industries are a major beneficiary of the natural capital that our seas provide.

Our MPA network, together with our HPMA network, will institute world-leading environmental protection in Scotland’s seas in a targeted and evidence-led way that is cognisant of socioeconomic factors and, therefore, delivers the just transition for which Mr Gibson asks.

I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement.

I note that the seed funding that was announced, as well as the work of our universities and academics, will further blue carbon research, which is welcome. Will the minister confirm whether Marine Scotland, which covers many areas of sea and ocean policy, will play a role, and will she say what that role would entail in the important research and management? If there is a role for Marine Scotland, what additional resources, such as for recruitment, will the Scottish Government provide to ensure that that already-stretched body can carry out the necessary work?

As a body of Scottish Government officials working in the area, Marine Scotland has been fundamentally involved in development of the Blue Carbon Forum since its inception in 2018. It will continue to do so by being part of the policy challenge that I am launching today, including through joining a board that will look at applications for funding and the process.

Beatrice Wishart asked an important question about resources. She and I had a conversation about that earlier in the week in relation to the multitude of activities that are going on in our maritime area and the need for Government oversight. I was able to reassure her then that the Scottish Government and Marine Scotland are preparing themselves well for that.

The minister’s statement touched on the fact that marine habitats such as kelp beds and sea-floor sediments contain large stocks of blue carbon. I am interested to know how Scotland can maximise the potential of those carbon stores while also realising the role that they can play in social and economic activities such as fishing.

As has been rehearsed a little already today, it is clear that, although blue carbon habitats might offer a nature-based solution, they are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change and human activity. Since the establishment of the Blue Carbon Forum in 2018, that has been a key area of focus. We are continuing to improve the evidence base; however, as was highlighted in the recent UK CCC report on blue carbon, there are key evidence gaps that need to be filled.

Of course, reaching net zero is not just about emissions reduction; it is also about protecting biodiversity and ensuring climate resilience, which in turn are vital to our marine industries that are dependent on marine natural capital. That is why we must continue to investigate—as the CCC says we must—the interactions of fishing and blue carbon stores and ensure greater protection through the HPMA programme.

I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement.

Restoration of coastal environments helps to tackle climate change by increasing blue carbon storage and sequestration, as the minister said. At the moment, however, that important work, like the community-led seagrass restoration project at Loch Craignish, does not count towards net zero, because blue carbon is not yet included in the national carbon accounting framework. Can the minister say more about how the Scottish Government will work with its UK counterparts to add blue carbon to the greenhouse gas inventory, in order to incentivise scaling up of coastal restoration?

Ariane Burgess has asked a really important question. Work with UK counterparts to support inclusion of salt marsh and seagrass in the UK greenhouse gas inventory is already under way. It will be a priority focus of the UK blue carbon evidence partnership, which will meet for the first time in May this year. Inclusion of habitats in the inventory requires robust greenhouse gas reporting and accounting; the evidence base for salt marsh and seagrass is, as we have discussed, still developing.

The subject has been an important focus for the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum, which has supported fundamental research to map and account for Scotland’s blue carbon habitats, including salt marsh and seagrass. Those are the first studies of their kind in the UK and they will make a significant contribution to the goal of including those habitats in the greenhouse gas inventory. Again, I put on the record my thanks to all the great minds who have been involved in that.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which was published in February, states that

“Current changes in the climate system and those expected in the future will increasingly have significant and”

damaging

“impacts on human and natural systems.”

Given the stark reality that is faced by the planet and its people, does the minister agree that we must all redouble our efforts, through initiatives such as the one that has been announced today, to combat climate change whenever and wherever possible?

Yes—Fiona Hyslop is absolutely right. We must do everything that we can, in the face of a global climate emergency that remains the greatest long-term threat that faces this planet. As the recent series of IPCC reports has made clear, that means taking action both to urgently reduce emissions to net zero globally and to build resilience to the impacts that are already locked in. Scotland’s precious marine environment has a really important role to play in both mitigation and adaptation.

I also agree with Fiona Hyslop’s call for even greater action; that applies to all of us, whether we are in the Government, the Opposition or outside Parliament. As I said, the Scottish Parliament has set some of the world’s most ambitious statutory targets to reduce emissions over the decade. Our collective focus must now be on delivering the transformational change that is needed. The Scottish Government has set out a comprehensive package for how we intend to do that, but we also need enhanced action from the UK Government.

The minister rightly highlights that our seas play an essential role in our lives with regard to climate change and biodiversity and, in turn, the economy—especially for coastal and island communities. However, given the shambles over which the minister’s Government presided, through lack of scientific evidence, regarding the Clyde cod fishery legislation—which has resulted in a loss of trust right across the fishing and environmental non-governmental organisation sectors—why should our fishers and coastal communities have any faith in the leadership of this virtue-signalling Scottish National Party Government, which is failing on almost every measure to halt terrestrial biodiversity and species decline? A shocking one in nine species is endangered.

It is all very well setting world-leading targets, but they are worthless if they are not delivered. Can the minister outline any financial assistance for a just transition for the sectors, including the fishing sector, that will be expected to deliver the blue carbon ambitions?

With the cynicism that is coming from Tory members, one would almost think that they had not voted for the world-leading climate targets that this country is now working under. [Interruption.]

On Clyde cod, after years of an approach that was not achieving the objectives, it is right for the Government to seek to change tack. The new arrangements are stricter, but they are also more targeted, which is certainly good from an environmental perspective. There is, undoubtedly, an important interaction between fisheries and blue carbon. We agree with the Climate Change Committee that scientific uncertainty about that impact is preventing an accurate assessment. The picture is far from clear, which is why we are investing in research, through our Blue Carbon Forum and today’s policy challenge, to fill the knowledge gaps, to improve science and to inform future policy development.

That concludes the ministerial statement on progressing Scotland’s leadership on blue carbon.