Can Blue Carbon Be a Climate Solution in Texas? - The Nature Conservancy

Blue Carbon Projects in Texas?

TNC is involved in various stages of blue carbon market projects in places such as Virginia (U.S.), the Bahamas, New Zealand and Australia. It's also an intriguing possibility in Texas, which produces 13% of U.S. carbon emissions—the highest rate in the country. As a first step in Texas, we're mapping areas where wetlands currently exist, as well as where they might migrate in the future as a result of climate change and sea level rise.

We're also tackling a range of demonstration projects in an effort to quantify the carbon benefits of different conservation and restoration initiatives. TNC already protects wetlands across the state, such as the Francine Cohn Preserve near Corpus Christi—home to species such as the piping plover and reddish egret. Such protected sites can serve as living laboratories where we can collect data and measure the carbon benefit of different restoration strategies, such as various erosion control methods, hydrological restoration or the use of dredged material to stabilize shorelines and restore wetlands.