Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to include the the impact of (a) seagrass meadows, (b) salt marshes and (c) other blue carbon habitats in the greenhouse gas inventory.

The estimation of the impact of anthropogenic activities on seagrass meadows, salt marshes and other blue carbon habitats along the shores of the UK is currently precluded by widespread gaps in the data required to generate emission estimates in line with current guidelines.

We are working with the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership (UKBCEP) to resolve this. As a first step, a roadmap to inclusion of saltmarsh has been created and the UKBCEP are working to collect the necessary data.