Blue Carbon and Nationally Determined Contributions: financing blue natural capital as Nature-based Solutions

This topic is linked to the science within the EMB Policy Brief No. 11 'Blue Carbon: Challenges and opportunties to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crises'.

Torsten Thiele is an expert in Ocean governance and sustainable blue finance, drawing on over 20 years experience in project and infrastructure finance with leading financial institutions and on over a decade of research into developing a sustainable and regenerative blue economy. He focuses on innovative Ocean finance solutions that support marine ecosystem conservation and regeneration. Torsten Thiele acts as consultant to governments and other international Ocean actors and sits on a number of advisory boards. He is Founder of Global Ocean Trust, Strategic Advisor to the IUCN Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility and Senior Advisor to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. Recent publications address high seas finance, the Ocean-climate-policy nexus, coastal infrastructure, marine Nature-based Solutions and innovative blue finance. Torsten Thiele holds degrees from the universities of Cambridge, Bonn and Harvard and is an Affiliate Scholar at the Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, Germany as well as Honorary Fellow at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK.

Natalie Hicks is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in benthic biogeochemistry at the University of Essex, and a co-author on the EMB Policy Brief No. 11 on Blue Carbon. Her research focuses on understanding the role of marine sediments in carbon cycling, including Blue Carbon habitats such as salt marshes and seagrasses, as well as offshore sediments. Natalie also has an interest in how anthropogenic activities may impact carbon storage and sequestration, such as how changes in coastal defence can support Blue Carbon and biodiversity, to how decommissioning offshore energy structures may impact shelf sediment carbon stores. She works closely with policymakers and industry collaborators to ensure her science impact extends beyond academia.

You can download Torsten's slides here and Natalie's slides here.

You can re-watch the webinar on the EMB YouTube Channel.