Blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) include mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, all of which are currently under threat, putting their contribution to mitigating climate change at risk. Although certain challenges and trade-offs exist, remote sensing offers a promising avenue for transparent, replicable, and cost-effective accounting of many BCE at unprecedented temporal and spatial scales. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has issued guidelines for developing blue carbon inventories to incorporate into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Yet, there is little guidance on remote sensing techniques for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets. This review constructs a unified roadmap for applying remote sensing technologies to develop cost-effective carbon inventories for BCE – from local to global scales. We summarise and discuss (1) current standard guidelines for blue carbon inventories; (2) traditional and cutting-edge remote sensing technologies for mapping blue carbon habitats; (3) methods for translating habitat maps into carbon estimates; and (4) a decision tree to assist users in determining the most suitable approach depending on their areas of interest, budget, and required accuracy of blue carbon assessment. We designed this work to support UNFCCC-approved IPCC guidelines with specific recommendations on remote sensing techniques for GHG inventories. Overall, remote sensing technologies are robust and cost-effective tools for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets and projects. Increased appreciation of these techniques can promote a technological shift towards greater policy and industry uptake, enhancing the scalability of blue carbon as a Natural Climate Solution worldwide.

蓝碳生态系统 (BCE) 包括红树林、潮汐沼泽和海草草甸，所有这些目前都受到威胁，使它们对缓解气候变化的贡献面临风险。尽管存在某些挑战和权衡取舍，但遥感为在前所未有的时间和空间尺度上对许多 BCE 进行透明、可复制和具有成本效益的核算提供了一条有前途的途径。联合国气候变化框架公约 (UNFCCC) 发布了制定蓝碳清单以纳入国家自主贡献 (NDC) 的指南。然而，很少有关于用于监测、报告和验证蓝碳资产的遥感技术的指南。本综述构建了一个统一的路线图，用于应用遥感技术为 BCE 开发具有成本效益的碳清单——从地方到全球范围。我们总结并讨论了 (1) 当前的蓝碳清单标准指南；(2) 绘制蓝碳栖息地的传统和尖端遥感技术；(3) 将生境图转化为碳估算的方法；(4) 决策树，帮助用户根据他们的兴趣领域、预算和蓝碳评估所需的准确性确定最合适的方法。我们设计这项工作是为了支持 UNFCCC 批准的 IPCC 指南，其中包含关于温室气体清单遥感技术的具体建议。总的来说，遥感技术是用于监测、报告、验证蓝碳资产和项目。对这些技术的更多了解可以促进技术转向更大的政策和行业吸收，增强蓝碳作为全球自然气候解决方案的可扩展性。