NSW is taking a dive under the sea to help cut carbon emissions in its latest strategy to tackle climate change.
Blue carbon ecosystems, which include seagrass, mangroves and saltmarsh, can store four times more carbon per area than land-based forests.
Environment Minister James Griffin has announced a new five-year strategy to open up a blue carbon market in the state.
He says marine ecosystems can capture and store carbon while also improving foreshore protection, water quality, biodiversity and fisheries.
The strategy will help unlock investment in blue carbon projects through carbon credits and other mechanisms that will ultimately benefit the state's economy and environment, and build resilience to climate change.
"The simplest way to understand blue carbon is to liken it to underwater forests - just as trees store carbon, marine and coastal plants and ecosystems do too, except even more efficiently," Mr Griffin said on Thursday.
"We have more than 2000 kilometres of NSW coastline and surrounding areas that could support the storage of additional blue carbon, which would significantly contribute to our goal of reducing carbon emissions," he said.
"I want to make sure we are protecting our rich biodiversity for generations to come while also leveraging investment opportunities."
About 10 million tonnes of carbon is currently being stored underwater which is equivalent to annual emissions from 500,000 households.
Australia's coastline stores approximately five to 11 per cent of global blue carbon stocks.
