Blue Carbon & Living Shorelines
Important Announcement
2026 Project Submission Deadline: December 1, 2026
BCarbon will accept project submissions for 2026 through December 1, 2026. Projects intended for submission this year should be submitted in their entirety to BCarbon no later than this date.
Following the December 1 deadline, BCarbon will dedicate the remainder of December to completing the review and processing of projects already in the pipeline. This time will also allow our team to review and refine BCarbon’s protocols and procedures and prepare for the year ahead.
We appreciate the continued engagement of our project partners and stakeholders throughout 2026. We look forward to building on this work in 2027.
Please plan to submit any remaining 2026 projects by December 1.
We’re pleased to announce that the Blue Carbon Protocol Version 2.2 is now available.
A summary of the recent changes can be found here: Update Summary
Blue Carbon Protocol Updates
October 2025
December 2023
Coastal wetlands store three to five times more carbon per acre than terrestrial ecosystems.
Many coastal wetlands, including those along the Gulf Coast, face degradation and disappearance due to increasing rates of sea level rise. This threatens to release their carbon content and uproot the ecosystems they support. The BCarbon Living Shorelines Protocol provides a mechanism to protect wetlands along with their sequestered carbon and biodiversity.
Read our Protocol here.
The BCarbon Blue Carbon Living Shorelines protocol defines the technical approach to certify carbon dioxide removals and enhance blue carbon sequestration from installing and operating living shorelines. The general process, as described in the Protocol, for constructing and crediting of Living Shorelines, is summarized in the graphics below.
Thanks to the BCarbon Living Shorelines Subcommittee and the following experts for development and updates to the Protocol.
Dr. Larry McKinney
Dr. Joe Fox
Dr. Rusty Feagin
Jeff Cohen
Dr. Rob Lane
Dr. Rachel Hunter
Dr. John Day
Dr. Jenni Pollack
Ted Hollingsworth
Tony Williams
Chris Levitz
Mark Gagliano
Lalise Mason
Apply:
Submit a Letter of Intent.
Meet with BCarbon for pre-consultation.
Fill out our Application and Spreadsheet, and complete our Checklist.
For additional support, see our Site Selection Guide, which expands on some important site-specific features to keep in mind while developing a project / application.
Sources/further reading: Pidgeon 2009; Nellemann et al 2009