Miguel Angel Mateo: "Protecting 30% of our planet would allow the damage in the rest to be repaired"

The first Spanish group of blue carbon ecosystem experts (G3ECA) has been created, with the aim of protecting coastal aquatic vegetation. Blue carbon refers to CO₂ which is captured by coastal ecosystems, primarily seagrass meadows, mangroves, and salt marshes. Although they cover less than 2% of the sea surface, they bury up to 50% of marine carbon in their sediments and can retain it for millennia. We spoke with Miguel Ángel Mateo, researcher at the CSIC at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB) and coordinator of the G3ECA together with Fernando Brun (University of Cádiz).