Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of the use of underwater seagrass to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere.

Defra recognises the role of blue carbon ecosystems including seagrasses, to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it for long periods of time as well as providing multiple other benefits such as storm protection, improving water quality, and benefiting biodiversity and fisheries.

Our Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership have assessed how seagrass habitats can be managed and protected in a changing climate (mccip-seagrass report card).

Nature-based solutions, including the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems like seagrass, are key to tackling climate change and averting its impacts.