Qantas Future Planet and HSBC Australia have committed additional funds to extend research exploring the Blue Carbon opportunities in Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, as part of their corporate efforts to build a sustainable future and support natural climate solutions.

Research funds from Qantas Future Planet and HSBC Australia will be injected to the program ‘Queensland Blue‘ sponsored by the Land Restoration Fund, and be used to explore study cases for local changes in management strategies along the Great Barrier Reef catchment and understand how future environmental conditions are likely to influence blue carbon stocks in the region. Such information is crucial to guide future policy and investments in blue carbon.

Both Qantas Future Planet and HSBC are committed to building a sustainable future.

HSBC is devoted to reducing their environmental impact and contributing to a low-carbon economy by investing US$100 billion in sustainable finance by 2025. In Australia, they have supported research initiatives like the ‘Mapping Ocean Wealth program‘ and the ‘HSBC Citizen Science program‘ specifically focused on exploring the value of coastal wetlands and their capacity to serve as carbon sinks.

Qantas has been offsetting carbon pollution for more than a decade. Together with their customers, Qantas Future Planet has offset over 3 million tonnes of carbon pollution, making it one of the largest airline offset programs in the world. Fuel emissions from flights are offset by supporting verified projects such as renewable energy initiatives, forest protection and restoration and Indigenous fire management. Through the Qantas Future Planet program, the airline partners with other leading businesses to offset emissions, empower consumers and drive positive action on climate change.

The Blue Carbon Lab is investing many resources into finding options for long-term carbon drawdown, and coastal wetlands are perfect for this job (e.g. mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes). These ecosystems sequester 50% of the ocean’s carbon and drawdown carbon 40 times faster than forests.

Through the #QLDBlue program, we are helping to put Queensland at the forefront of international efforts to incorporate coastal blue carbon within carbon mitigation strategies. We are answering the most critical question underpinning further consideration and investment in blue carbon in the Land Restoration Fund context: how big is the opportunity for blue carbon in Queensland and where to act? This information is essential for informing potential future investments in blue carbon through the Land Restoration Fund.