Blue Carbon Credits Insurance

Marine

Replace blue carbon buffer credits with cover

Private

• Removes buffer credit requirements, releasing more tradeable credits
• Greater finance unlocked for coastal conservation and restoration
• Supports mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarsh protection

Exploring insurance as an alternative to buffer-credit requirements in blue carbon markets, covering loss of mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh carbon to free up tradeable credits and project finance.

Swiss Re, Conservation International

Case study referred by UNEP FI. For more information, please contact: info@naturance.eu.

Conservation International has partnered with Swiss Re to explore insurance as an alternative to buffer credit requirements in blue carbon markets. Blue carbon systems, including mangroves, seagrasses and saltmarshes, are the Earth's most carbon-dense ecosystems, with carbon credits serving as a finance mechanism for coastal conservation/restoration.
Current certification processes require projects to allocate buffer credits to cover non-permanence risks, reducing tradeable credits and project funding. The proposed insurance covers loss/damage to assets such as mangroves from natural and weather-related events that reduce carbon benefits, potentially removing the need for buffer credits related to those specific risks. Project proponents would pay a premium ideally lower than the equivalent buffer credit value, with the difference unlocking greater finance for projects while allowing more credits to enter the market.

Nature and the Insurance Industry: Taking action towards a nature-positive economy