Aside from the development of marine renewable energy, what plans does the Welsh Government have to harness the potential of the seas to help reach emission targets?
The Welsh Government recognises the powerful contribution the marine environment makes to carbon sequestration and therefore, the importance of its protection.
Through our Welsh Marine Protected Areas network and active decision making using the Welsh National Marine Plan, we continue to manage those habitats, which will be important in helping us meet our emissions targets.
We are working with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and others to understand the relative contribution different marine ecosystems make towards carbon sequestration. Making such spatial evidence available will empower those wishing to undertake development in the marine area to do so sustainably, including, where appropriate, contributing towards our carbon reduction objectives. Our marine planning policy will act as a catalyst to support positive outcomes such as this.
Alongside this, we are supporting practical projects to restore blue carbon habitats such as seagrass meadows, which have a key part to play in the nature based solutions to climate change whilst also providing wider biodiversity enhancement. The Sustainable Management Scheme N2K Project RESOW (Restoration and Enhancement of Seagrasses of Wales) is one such project. NRW are currently mapping areas of other marine and coastal habitats, which store and sequester carbon such as salt marsh, native oysters, horse mussel beds and intertidal mud flats to demonstrate further opportunities for restoration of these important habitats.