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Climate change is currently the biggest environmental challenge facing sustainable development in human society, and it is an inherent requirement for achieving sustainable development by actively addressing climate change. Under the increasingly strict constraints of climate governance, developed countries such as the United States, European Union countries, and Japan have responded and actively formulated low-carbon development goals and policy measures that are in line with their national conditions. These policies mainly involve various fields such as low-carbon technology, energy conservation and emission reduction, and circular development, with clear policy guidance. In this paper, the evolution of policies on marine carbon sink and carbon trading in China is summarized, providing support for better understanding the background of formulating relevant international and domestic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that China would peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. China has issued a series of documents on the carbon peaking and neutrality goals, which have become hot issues in society. The concept of carbon peaking is relatively easy to understand, but for that of carbon neutrality, there are some misunderstandings, such as mixed use of different terms and ambiguous scope, classification, and relationships between related concepts, which not only directly affect the implementation of the 'dual carbon' goals in China, but also impede China􀆳s participation in global climate governance and international climate cooperation towards the goal of carbon neutrality. This paper attempts to trace the origin and evolution of the concept of carbon neutrality. It sorts out the different expressions of the carbon neutrality goal, compares the differences and correlations between related concepts, and discusses the key elements and implications of the concept of carbon neutrality. The discussion leads to the following conclusions: ① The concept of carbon neutrality was introduced to the field of global climate governance after carbon trading and carbon offsetting had been proposed in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. ② The concept of carbon neutrality has both narrow and broad senses. Narrowly speaking, it refers to carbon dioxide neutrality, while in a broad sense, it is a collective term for related concepts such as carbon dioxide neutrality, greenhouse gas neutrality, climate neutrality, net zero carbon dioxide emissions, and net zero greenhouse gas emissions. In the international community, the expression 'net zero' is more widely used. ③ To understand the concept of carbon neutrality, four elements need to be grasped: the balance between the source and removal of anthropogenic emissions; multiple implementation entities and their carbon accounting boundaries; the scope of emissions (covering merely carbon dioxide or all greenhouse gases); and carbon neutralization paths including carbon emission reduction, carbon removal, carbon offsets, etc. ④ Clarifying the concept of carbon neutrality is the basis for efficiently implementing the 'dual carbon' goals and promoting international cooperation. The terms used in the legal documents and IPCC guidelines and reports approved in the UNFCCC negotiations are internationally accepted concepts and norms. They are recognized by various governments and serve as an important foundation for scientific research as well as the cognitive basis for international negotiations and actions. The definition and interpretation of the concept of carbon neutrality should be consistent with the international community as much as possible to form a unified understanding that is not only conducive to promoting international cooperation towards carbon neutrality, but also to China' s implementation of the Paris Agreement and advancement of work towards the 'dual carbon' goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiatives to mitigate climate change have recently aroused great interest in the role of natural carbon sinks in coastal ecosystems. Seaweeds are widely distributed in the world and represent a large biomass. Since they are part of the global carbon reserves, they remove carbon dioxide and influence climate change. Using the recent 20 years of seaweed mariculture in China's coastal areas as a case, this paper quantifies the carbon storage in cultivated seaweed biomass, and evaluates the carbon sink potential, the remediation ability of nitrogen and phosphorus and other environmental benefits. The carbon sink potential of cultivated seaweeds exhibits a rising trend from 2000 to 2019. The total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus removal amount of seaweed were 3,551,754.9 ± 177,587.75, 297,772.25 ± 14,888.61, 39,967.15 ± 1998.36 tons according to the seaweed cultivation yield in China coast. The total benefit of carbon sequestration was 22,405.67 ± 259.59 million CNY, and the average benefit was 1120.28 ± 263.27 million CNY, with the average annual growth rate of 4.00%. The total environmental benefit was 1,962,020.88 ± 22,747.42 million CNY, and the average benefit was 98,103.04 ± 23,073.08 million CNY, with the average annual growth rate of 4.00%. The present study illustrates distinctly the ecological value of large-scale cultivated seaweeds in increasing marine carbon sequestration and resolving offshore environmental issues, which is an efficient approach and comparable to other key marine ecosystems. Based on the carbon sink role of seaweed mariculture, and with the goal of global carbon neutrality, more attention should be paid to the carbon sink capacity of large-scale seaweed cultivation industry and be vigorously developed worldwide. • Seaweed has an active effect in N, P remediation and quantities of CO 2 accumulation. • Seaweed has a strong carbon sequestration capacity and is a key part of carbon sink. • Carbon sequestration benefit of seaweed cultivation is 22,405.67 ± 259.59 millions CNY. • Suggesting to pay more attention to the seaweed carbon sink on a global scale. • Suggesting to vigorously develop and promote seaweed cultivation industry worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]