Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects.

Assembly Member Boerner's coastal resources legislation empowers the California Coastal Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects that restore coastal wetlands, subtidal areas, and marine ecosystems to evaluate their carbon sequestration potential. The measure allows the Commission to require nonresidential developers whose projects impact coastal habitats to either construct or contribute to these restoration initiatives as environmental mitigation.

The bill defines blue carbon demonstration projects as restoration efforts in historically degraded coastal areas using diverse native species to return ecosystems to their natural states. Each project must include comprehensive monitoring and data collection to measure carbon uptake and storage capacity, with results presented at public Commission hearings. The legislation requires consultation between the Commission and other relevant agencies, including the State Air Resources Board, Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Coastal Conservancy, and federal partners to develop the demonstration program.

This initiative aligns with California's existing climate frameworks, including Executive Order N-82-20's directive to conserve 30 percent of state coastal waters by 2030. The bill's findings note that coastal wetlands can sequester three to five times more carbon per area than tropical forests, though current state climate planning does not fully incorporate blue carbon due to limited data. These demonstration projects aim to fill that knowledge gap while advancing both habitat restoration and carbon reduction objectives.