Blue carbon: Ocean ecosystems as systemic climate regulators—beyond simplistic 'lungs' metaphors
Original framing: “Blue carbon: Unearthing the ocean's own climate fix” — Phys.org
The concept of oceanic oxygen production emerged in the 1970s with the discovery of microbial oxygenic photosynthesis, challenging earlier terrestrial-centric narratives. Colonial maritime laws (e.g., 18th-century British Fisheries Acts) displaced Indigenous coastal governance, creating the legal vacuum that now enables blue carbon commodification. The 20th-century rise of industrial fishing and deep-sea trawling disrupted ancient carbon burial processes, turning 'blue lungs' into net carbon sources.
The 'blue carbon' narrative reveals a paradox: the ocean, which produces 50-80% of Earth's oxygen and sequesters carbon at rates unmatched by terrestrial systems, is framed as a technical fix for industrial capitalism rather than a living system deserving of reciprocity.
This framing obscures how colonial maritime laws, carbon markets, and corporate greenwashing have turned blue carbon into a frontier for accumulation, displacing the Indigenous stewards who have protected these ecosystems for millennia. Systems like Māori kaitiakitanga, Maldivian fari eduru, and Afro-Caribbean conuco agroforestry demonstrate that blue carbon governance must center relational ethics over extraction—yet these are systematically excluded from global policy. The scientific consensus on blue carbon's potential is undeniable, but its realization requires dismantling the power structures that treat the ocean as a resource to be owned rather than a kin to be respected. The path forward lies in legal personhood for marine ecosystems, Indigenous co-governance, and microbial-inclusive accounting—each a radical departure from the extractive logics that created the climate crisis in the first place.