 Mae'r next item of business is the statement from Mary McCallan on progressing Scotland's leadership in blue carbon. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Mary McCallan for around 10 minutes, please minister. Thank you very much. I am glad to deliver this statement today, setting out how this Government is progressing Scotland's leadership on blue carbon, which is a critical climate policy. The global ocean life support system produces 50 per cent of the world's oxygen, absorbs 23 per cent of man-made CO2 emissions and 90 per cent of the excess heat created by man-made greenhouse gases. It is also the world's largest store of carbon, with 93 per cent of the earth's CO2 stored and cycled through marine ecosystems. Those are therefore clearly critical in the fight against climate change, and Scotland has a great deal to offer here. We have in Scotland almost six times more sea than land, and those seas play an essential role in all of our lives. They regulate climate, they support our rich biodiversity and in turn support our economy, wellbeing, culture and heritage, especially for our coastal and island communities. COP26, of course, highlighted the centrality of the ocean in tackling the twin nature and climate crisis. In particular, it highlighted the potential contribution of blue carbon habitats as a marine nature-based solution. COP26 also shone the spotlight on climate change impacts that are already being observed in the marine environment, including ocean acidification, sea level rise and coastal erosion. Blue carbon is a relatively new concept, at least in public discourse. It refers to the carbon captured and stored in marine and coastal ecosystems, accumulated over great swath of time through natural processes. Blue carbon habitats include but are not limited to salt marshes, seagrasses, kelp beds and biogenic reefs, as well as so-called geological sedimentary stores such as seafloor and sea-loch sediments. Blue carbon habitats store globally significant amounts of carbon and represent important long-term natural carbon stores. As well as locking up carbon, those habitats provide ecosystem services supporting biodiversity, providing nursery beds for fish species and providing coastal protection, for example, from flooding. Many of the key habitats and species that research is identifying as being important for blue carbon are priority marine features, and therefore are already recognised within Scotland's marine protected area network. However, as with much in the marine world, recognition and understanding of those complex systems is somewhat behind the understanding of terrestrial carbon stores. The Scottish Government recognised that early and, given the climate emergency and the size and importance of our maritime zone, in 2018 we established the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum to help to identify Scotland's blue carbon habitats, understand their value as well as their vulnerability to human and environmental pressures. Our Blue Carbon Research programme, developed by us in partnership with NatureScot, the Association of Marine Science and the Universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Heriotwatt, Stirling and Napier, has put Scotland at the very forefront of blue carbon research in the UK and internationally. Since 2018, we have invested over £650,000 supporting projects to grow the blue carbon evidence and skills base in Scotland and ensure that we use the wealth of knowledge to inform decision making. Thanks to our early collaborative action, we now know that, together, our blue carbon habitats store roughly the same amount of carbon as our land-based ecosystems, such as peatlands, forestry and soils. We know that our coastal blue carbon ecosystems, specifically seagrasses and salt marshes, are highly efficient natural carbon sinks per area basis. We have a detailed assessment of carbon stored in our salt marsh habitats and an increasingly complete map of our seagrass habitats, which include potential sites that are identified for restoration. That work has been made possible in part by a drone that was funded by the Scottish Government. We have led work to identify Scotland's blue carbon hotspots and have invested £200,000 through the Nature Restoration Fund to develop a specialist blue carbon laboratory at St Andrews University. We have recently published work that maps both the quantity and the quality of sea shelf carbon stocks in the UK's exclusive economic zone. That collaborative work, which we moved early to develop, has proved invaluable. Recent developments elsewhere are highlighting the growing importance of blue carbon. I recently welcomed the publication of the UK Committee on Climate Change report on blue carbon. It gave a very balanced assessment of the current evidence base, outlining the small but important climate mitigation potential, the significant co-benefits of those habitats for climate adaptation, resilience and biodiversity, and the importance of continuing to improve our understanding of how they function, how they are impacted by human pressures and how that affects their ability to sequester and store carbon. I am very pleased that the Scottish Government with the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum has already been taking action to address many of the report's recommendations. The Committee on Climate Change ultimately identified gaps in scientific knowledge. Our forum's leadership is already helping us to progress many of those knowledge gaps in Scotland and more widely across the UK, including through our support for the new cross-UK blue carbon evidence partnership, which will help to accelerate the blue carbon actions that are required at a UK level, including the inclusion of salt, marsh and seagrass in the UK greenhouse gas inventory, which was a key recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change report. Inclusion of salt, marsh and the inventory and, as evidence develops, seagrass as well, would be a step change in how blue carbon is viewed and it is critical to attract future investment and drive restoration similarly to the way that we have seen with peatland restoration following its inclusion in the inventory. Presiding Officer, the unique contribution of the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum deserves much recognition. Not only has it developed understanding, but it has done so leading the way internationally and has actively helped to encourage and shape other forums. I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to everybody involved in the forum. Their future programme will consider how to minimise the vulnerability of our blue carbon stores to human activities and will include support for our ambitious marine protection programme in Scotland, which, of course, is part of our shared policy agenda with the Scottish Green Party. On that, we are starting from strong base. 37 per cent of Scotland's seas are already designated within marine protected areas. We will complete the management measures within the NPA network by 2024 and, separately, have committed to designate at least 10 per cent of our in and offshore waters as highly protected marine areas, where there will be no extractive activity by 2026. That is a truly world-leading commitment to protect our marine environment, and blue carbon will be used as one of the key criteria for site selection. As building our own knowledge base and encouraging UK partnerships, we are continuing to develop international connections as part of our COP26 legacy. Scotland's role as a global leader was never more evident than during COP26, where the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum hosted an international conference of experts. In recognition of our ambitious programme, Scotland's forum was invited to join the international partnership for blue carbon, which, since its establishment at COP21 in Paris, has expanded to 51 members globally. The climate and nature emergencies present an existential threat to this planet and to all of life on it. The IPCC has been clear. It is now or never to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. In Scotland, this Parliament has moved to pass some of the most robust climate mitigation laws in the world. It is now our job to deliver on those. We are also committed to treating the climate emergency on a twin-crisis basis, with ecological decline, and we will legislate for nature recovery targets in this term. Scotland is a maritime nation. We have more sea than land, and we have moved quickly to become an international frontrunner, but we will not stop there. That is why today I am delighted to announce the launch of our COP26 commitment, the Blue Carbon International Policy Challenge, which will provide seed funding for five policy challenge projects, with an intention to establish blueprints for international and domestic policy action. The challenge topics are wide-ranging, and the challenge will bring the global community together to learn and share knowledge and best practice to accelerate delivery of our climate change ambitions both in Scotland and with our partner countries. As I launched the challenge, I would like to encourage blue carbon research and policy specialists to apply. In conclusion, we know that climate change is a global emergency that requires urgent global action. International collaborations have a critical role to play in bringing us together towards a common goal. In fact, the interconnectedness of the ocean is a great symbol of the imperative of co-operation. The blueprints from the policy challenge announced today will provide a vital link between our COP26 and COP27 blue carbon ambitions, delivering both at home in Scotland and demonstrating our commitment as an outward-looking nation and proactive partner for ambitious marine climate action across the globe. Minister, the minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for this, after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. I urge members who wish to ask a question. We have not already done so to press the request-to-speak buttons as soon as possible, and I call, firstly, Brian Whittle. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for the early sight of her statement. However, given that I could have watched in the opening few minutes of a Blue Planet episode and got the same information, it suggests that blue carbon is just now coming on to the Scottish Government radar. Given that 93 per cent of the world's CO2 is held in the marine environment, in sediment, in kelp, in seagrass, in salt marshes, in marl beds and biogenic reefs, it is essential that in our drive to net zero, the marine environment and specifically blue carbon sequestration is given a much greater emphasis. I think that destruction of our offshore environments is certainly not given the same level of attention as those onshore. Firstly, given that good policy requires good scientific data, and I note the minister's statement that the Scottish Government has invested £650,000 since 2018 to grow the blue carbon evidence and skill base, I have to say that amounts to a little over £160,000 a year, or put another way, two-month salary if you're the boss of Ferguson Marine. Would she agree that there is a need to be a huge increase in investment in the data collection to bring blue carbon investment up to the same level as on-land carbon capture such as peatland restoration? Secondly, exactly how much money will the Scottish Government commit to the seed funding for the Blue Carbon International Policy Challenge? Thirdly, a spice briefing suggests that there is no evidence that climate change has been considered in the designation of current and proposed marine protected areas, while the Scottish Government addressed that in their Blue Carbon Policy to protect significant marine habitats. It's really rather cynical to suggest that this is just coming on the radar of the Scottish Government, and I can't help but feel that Brian Whittle perhaps wasn't listening to this statement, because the whole thing was about how Scotland has been a pioneer in this area, both in the UK and internationally. However, he's absolutely right to say that scientific data is key. We recognise that there are gaps in the evidence base just now. We recognise that in 2018 when we set up the Blue Carbon Forum. The Committee on Climate Change have equally recognised that there are gaps in the evidence base. Evidence is key to driving policy and investment. That's exactly why we have the forum. That's exactly why I'm launching the policy challenge today. For the detail that Mr Whittle has asked for on the challenge, the total sum for the next year is £50,000, and that is up to £10,000 per topic for five applications. On the final point, which I think was the suggestion that climate change has not been taken into account during the process of designating marine precepts areas, the entire raison d'etre, which is climate change, is that that's flatly wrong. Thank you. I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. How can we take the Scottish Government's commitment to net zero seriously when they repeatedly miss their climate targets and then release statements like today's about something that they already announced and have failed to do? Let me explain. In November last year, the Blue Carbon International Policy Challenge, just announced by the minister, was already announced by another minister. I've got their press release here from November, which states that it will run from January to March 2022. We're now in April 2022, so why was it delayed? What is the new timeline and why wasn't this included in today's statement? The Scottish Government has also previously committed to providing £150,000 through the Nature Restoration Fund to support the establishment of specialist blue carbon research. Applications closed earlier this month for the second round of the Nature Restoration Fund, so is the minister able to update us on whether any applications were received relating to blue carbon research and, if so, how they are being progressed? If no applications have been received, when does the minister envisage that that £150,000 reserved for blue carbon research will be allocated? Finally, the minister referred to the Scottish Government's pledge that it will designate at least 10 per cent of Scotland's seas as highly protected marine areas by 2026, with blue carbon protection being one of the criteria used to identify sites. Can the minister give an update on what progress has been made in selecting sites for highly protected marine areas? I'll take each issue in turn from Mercedes Villalba. It's quite simple. I don't think that Mercedes Villalba has uncovered some great secret, as she seems to think she has. We said at COP26 that we would do this. I'm doing it today and I'm launching the challenge today. I'm launching the terms of the challenge. I'm launching the five project areas that we've been developing since we said we would do this at COP26. It's really not a controversy. On the Nature Restoration Fund, I'm not going to pre-empt the results of the applications from that. My colleague Lorna Slater is overseeing the Nature Restoration Fund, but I very much hope that there will be applications that seek to fund projects for our marine environment. As regards HPMAs, I and the officials are currently working on the site selection protocol for the HPMAs, which I'm not able to speak to the detail of yet, but which will very much consider both the imperative of environmental protection but equally social economic factors for our fishing and coastal communities. Marine ecosystems have historically suffered degradation from human activity. Can I therefore ask the minister what adaptations to our current relationship with Scotland's seas and oceans will be potentially necessary in order to realise the full environmental potential of our blue carbon stores? I thank Stephanie Callahan for the question. As was highlighted in the recent UK Committee on Climate Change report on blue carbon that I mentioned in my statement, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge of how these habitats function and the impact of human pressures on them, which is very important. It is research by the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum that is continuing to help us to address those gaps and build a stronger picture of how blue carbon habitats can help us to meet our climate and diversity ambitions. However, we are not starting from zero. Many of the species and habitats that research is identifying as being key for blue carbon are already priority marine features and within our MPA network. As I have already said, we will move to designate 10 per cent of our waters, both inshore and offshore, as highly protected marine areas by 2026. In doing that, we will draw on evidence from the Blue Carbon Forum. The minister rightly highlights the vital role that research by Scottish universities will play in developing blue carbon opportunities and referred in her statement to £650,000 to support that research, which is all good stuff. However, that figure has to be seen in the wider context of funding cuts that Scottish universities have been subject to, which means today that research carried out by Scottish universities is being done at a loss of £300 million a year, and that is according to the Scottish funding council. Does the minister recognise that the funding that she has announced today for blue carbon research is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the massive cuts that her Government has imposed on Scottish universities? I appreciate the pun from Mr Lockhart, but I do not agree that it is a drop in the ocean. For my perspective, that is a new area of scientific research, a very important area of scientific research, one that is absolutely fundamental to Scotland, given our maritime zone. For my responsibilities, it is up to me to make sure that it is getting the funding that I think is required to drive forward that progress. Given the successes of the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum to date, I am comfortable with that. I note that, as the minister says, Scotland has perceived very much to be a leader in this field of blue carbon. Can she say anything about the UK's position and whether there is any risk to Scotland's leadership by the UK not pulling its weight? The Scottish Government is, of course, proud of the leading role that we are playing on carbon research in the waters around Scotland and around the UK and, indeed, our contribution internationally. However, although we are leading, we see no lack of interest in our work from others in the north-east Atlantic sea basin, including in our European neighbours. I am glad to be able to set an example for the UK and beyond, as well as the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland executive are now following our lead. I should say that delivering on our commitment to HPMAs in offshore waters will require collaboration with the UK Government, as those powers are reserved. I, of course, will seek that collaboration, and I expect it, but should fire rather those powers were in the hands of this Parliament. Thank you, Presiding Officer. While any investment in our vital blue carbon is welcome, does the minister share concerns that we may see in our seas what we have seen on a land where some big businesses, so-called green layers, invest in huge swaths of land for forestry to offset their own excessive carbon footprint rather than take responsibility for reducing their own emissions? It could be argued that this may leverage badly needed investment to support projects in our seas, especially given the modest government investment, but does the minister agree that it is not an alternative to genuine emission reduction by big business? I thank Colin Smyth for the question, which I think is a really pertinent one, because it is absolutely true that, as the centrality of our natural environment, be it terrestrial, be it maritime, as the centrality of that to our work on climate and nature emergencies, has become clearer, so too does the investment opportunity that is linked with that. I mentioned in my statement that we are slightly somewhat behind terrestrial developments in the marine zone, but we will need to be as mindful when it comes to development in the marine environment as to the responsibility of those who are investing in it as we are in the terrestrial zone. The programme for government Scottish ministers committed to designating at least 10 per cent of Scotland's seas as highly protected marine areas by 2026, which the minister reiterated today. How will the policy and selection framework for HPMAs ensure the protection of blue carbon habitats, and how will this process be taken forward to help to secure a just transition to net zero? NatureScot and the GI NCC are currently developing the site selection guidance for HPMAs, and, as I committed to Mercedes Villalba to keep the Parliament up-to-date on that, I will echo that with Mr Gibson. Regarding the management of the process, as I said, social economic factors affecting the resilience and viability of marine industries, and indeed our coastal communities, which depend on them, will be taken into account through the selection and designation process for HPMAs. We must ensure that we do not leave marine industries and our coastal communities that rely on them high and dry. Indeed, marine industries are a major beneficiary of the natural capital that our seas provide, but, as I have said, our MPA network, and together with our highly protected marine area network, will see world-leading environmental protection instituted in Scotland's seas, but in a targeted, evidence-less way that is cognisant of social economic factors and therefore delivers the just transition that Mr Gibson is asking for. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I thank the minister for advanced sight of the statement. I note the seed funding announcement, as well as the work of our universities and academics for further blue-carbon research, which is welcome. Will the minister confirm if Marine Scotland, which covers many areas of sea and ocean policy, will play a role and what that would entail in this important research and management? If there is a role for Marine Scotland, what additional resources, including recruitment, will the Scottish Government be providing to ensure that the already stretched body can carry out the necessary work? As Scottish Government officials working in this area, Marine Scotland has been very fundamentally involved in the development of the Blue Carbon Forum since its inception in 2018 and will continue to be part of the policy challenge that I am launching today, including through joining a board that will look at the applications for the funding and for the process. Beatrice Wishart raised an important point about resources. Her and I had a conversation about that earlier in the week as regards the multitude of activities that are going on in our maritime area and the need for government oversight. I was able to reassure her then that the Scottish Government and Marine Scotland are preparing themselves well for that. The minister's statement touched on the fact that marine habitats such as kelp beds and seafloor sediments contain large stocks of Blue Carbon. I am interested to know how Scotland can maximise the potential of these carbon stores, while at the same time realising the role that they play in social and economic activities such as FISHER. As has been rehearsed a little bit already today, it is clear that, while Blue Carbon habitats may offer a marine-based, nature-based solution, they are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change and to human activities. Since the establishment of the forum in 2018, that has been a key area of focus. We are continuing to progress the evidence-based. However, as highlighted in the recent UKCCC report on Blue Carbon, there are key evidence gaps that need to be filled. Of course, reaching net zero is not just about emissions reduction but also protecting biodiversity and ensuring climate resilience, which in turn is vital to our marine industries dependent on marine natural capital. That is why we must continue to investigate, as the CCCC, the interactions of fishing on Blue Carbon stores, as well as ensuring greater protection through the HPMA programme. I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. Restoring coastal environments help to tackle climate change by increasing Blue Carbon storage and sequestration, as she has said. However, at the moment, this important work, such as the community-led seagrass restoration at Loch Cregnus, does not count towards net zero because Blue Carbon is not yet included in the national carbon accounting framework. Could the minister say more about how the Scottish Government will work with the UK counterparts to add Blue Carbon to the greenhouse gas inventory to incentivise scaling up of coastal restoration? Arrian Burgess raises a really important question. Work with UK counterparts to support inclusion of salt marsh and seagrass in the UK greenhouse gas inventory is already underway and will be a priority focus of the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, which will meet for the first time in May this year. Inclusion of habitats in this inventory requires robust greenhouse gas reporting and accounting, and the evidence base for salt marsh and seagrass is, as we have discussed, still developing. However, this has been an important focus for the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum, which has supported fundamental research to map an account for Scotland's blue carbon habitats, including salt marsh and seagrass. Those are the first studies of their kind in the UK and will make a really significant contribution to the goal of including them in the greenhouse gas inventory. Again, I would like to put on record my thanks to all the great minds who have been involved in this. The latest IPCC report published in February stated that current changes in the climate system and those expected in the future will increasingly have significant and damaging impacts on human and natural systems. Given the stark reality faced by the planet and its people, does the minister agree with me that we must all redouble our efforts through initiatives, like the one that was announced today, to combat climate change whenever and wherever possible? Yes, if you want to hustle up, it is absolutely right. We must do everything that we can in the face of a global climate emergency, which remains the greatest long-term threat facing this planet. As the recent series of IPCC reports have made clear, that means taking action to both urgently reduce emissions to net zero globally and building resilience to the impacts that are now already locked in. Scotland's precious marine environment has a really important role to play in both those mitigation and adaptation aspects. I also agree on Fiona Hyslop's call to even greater action and that it applies to all of us, whether in government, opposition or outside the chamber. As I say, this Parliament has set some of the world's most ambitious statutory targets to reduce emissions over the decade, and our collective focus must now be on delivering the transformational change that is needed there. The Scottish Government has set out a comprehensive package of how we intend to do that, but we also need to see enhanced action from the UK Government. The minister rightly highlights that our seas play an essential role in our lives in regards to climate, biodiversity and internal economy, especially for coastal and island communities. Given the shambles over which the minister's Government presided regarding the Clyde cod fishery legislation through lack of scientific evidence, which has resulted in a loss of trust right across the fishing and the environmental NGO sector, why should our fishers in coastal communities have any faith in the leadership of this virtual signalling SNP Government, who are failing in almost every measure to halt terrestrial biodiversity and species decline, with a shocking one in nine species endangered? It is all very well-setting world-leading targets, but they are worthless if not delivered. Can the minister outline any financial assistance for a just transition for sectors, including the fishing sector, who will be expected to deliver those blue carbon ambitions? Thank you, Presiding Officer. From the cynicism coming from the Tory benches, you would almost think that they hadn't voted for the world-leading climate targets that this country is now working under. After years of an approach not achieving its objectives, I think that it's right for a Government to seek to change track. The new arrangements are stricter but also more targeted, which is certainly good from an environmental perspective. Now, there is undoubtedly an important interaction between fisheries and blue carbon. We agree with the Committee on Climate Change that scientific uncertainties as to that impact are preventing an accurate assessment, and the picture is far from clear. That is why we are investing in research through our blue carbon forum and via today's policy challenge to fill the knowledge gaps to improve science and to inform future policy development.