Blue Carbon Academy launched

The Blue Carbon Academy is a unique resource that aims to democratise access to blue carbon knowledge and scale up effective coastal and marine restoration by supporting communities worldwide in accessing blue carbon finance.

“Time is running out for us to reverse climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Blue carbon – that is, carbon captured by the ocean and marine ecosystems, including mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes – promises to be a powerful ally in this vital fight,” says Fair Carbon in a press release.

“Knowing that the health and resilience of these habitats play a vital role in the future of our planet, what can we do to protect them? Fair Carbon believes that facilitating a high-integrity blue carbon market has the potential to finance the protection and restoration of these critical ecosystems,” they add.

Fair carbon is also aiming to “provide an avenue to fairly reward the stewards who manage these lands by selling certified, high-quality blue carbon credits".

As co-founder and CEO, Diana Denke, explains: “We know many reasons why the carbon markets do not work for many. We are also aware of various barriers that prevent projects from maturing and scaling, from technical complexity to policy and regulatory challenges and access to finance. Using that knowledge, we are here to lower market growth barriers and bring diverse voices worldwide together to co-create solutions.”

Key facts

1. The Blue Carbon Academy is an actionable and science-based online course designed to make it easy to understand how to create credible and successful blue carbon projects. Each module is designed to help participants advance their project development journey, from the basics of blue carbon towards accreditation to monitoring and verification. Resources, tools, and expert guidance explain how to access carbon markets in order to protect and restore these critical coastal ecosystems.
   
2. Alongside it, Fair Carbon is launching a Community of Practice that brings together a global network of stakeholders - including project developers, scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and local communities - to foster collaboration, improve knowledge sharing, and turn ideas into concrete action that facilitates the growth of the blue carbon market. Bi-monthly gatherings will be held as virtual roundtables, where the aim is to dissect the most pressing issues around blue carbon, drive discussions towards collective action, and bring the blue-carbon community to life.
   
3. The ongoing Fair Carbon Pilot Program hosts an annual cohort of blue carbon projects at various stages of maturity. The inaugural cohort has already attracted projects spanning coastal areas of the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Africa. Beyond getting free access to the Blue Carbon Academy, participants also benefit from hands-on guidance, peer-to-peer learning, monthly expert-led crash courses, and an annual cohort meeting organised at existing blue carbon project sites to explore best practices on the ground and learn from renowned blue carbon experts.
4. The ultimate goal is to help these projects avoid the common pitfalls that hinder project success and accelerate their development pace. In addition, each year, selected projects will have the opportunity to join the Fair Carbon Hub, connecting them to pre-vetted funders ready to invest in high-quality projects.

Fair Carbon invites project developers, carbon buyers, business leaders, and policymakers to champion a more resilient and regenerative future by joining the Community of Practice and the Blue Carbon Academy.

They are also encouraged to leverage expert guidance on policy and regulatory developments via downloadable Enabling Conditions Country profiles. These allow investors and developers to see which country is ready for blue carbon and inform decision-making.