Feasibility Study: Blue Carbon Finance in Louisiana’s Deltaic Plain

Abstract

The situation of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, at the output of the U.S.’s largest watershed, threatens the welfare of the region’s people and industries, which are experiencing significant effects from climate change and rising sea levels. But the region’s geography also presents robust opportunities for solutions - in fact, there are few places as well-suited as the Gulf Coast of the Southeastern U.S., and especially the coastline of Louisiana, for incubating innovative resiliency models that can be replicated and improved upon elsewhere. One significant opportunity could be the implementation of an environmental crediting market that would incentivize preservation of soil carbon levels in the wetlands of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain - a voluntary “blue carbon” market. Such a market could encourage scaled restorative management practices, maintain the region’s high levels of soil-sequestered carbon, and create $1.6 billion in direct value for stakeholders. This feasibility study explores the major hurdles and levers for implementation, and recommends potential paths forward for funding and implementing a voluntary blue carbon market.