The management of carbon stocks on land has become an important instrument in the fight against climate change. Although shelf seas also constitute a significant part of the global carbon cycle, they have remained largely unaccounted for due to a lack of qualitative data, the complexity of the marine system, etc. The BERNARDO project intends to overcome this divide and will establish, for the first time, an overarching carbon budget for the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS). At the same time, the effect of specific Blue Economy activities on this baseline marine carbon budget will be assessed. By filling these knowledge gaps, industrial valorization opportunities for marine carbon budgeting in shelf seas worldwide will be unlocked. In this regard, BERNARDO will develop novel products and services to implement marine carbon budgeting in offshore industrial developments. This will in turn support emerging sectors, e.g. large-scale climate action and nature restoration projects. 

The overall objective of the BERNARDO-project is to realize the full potential of marine carbon in shelf systems for the development of a sustainable Blue Economy, as a solution in the fight against climate change. To achieve this objective, a scientific breakthrough will be realized by quantifying all prevailing carbon fluxes in the BPNS through an innovative carbon monitoring approach. This will subsequently provide the necessary input to develop a high-resolution, fully-balanced marine carbon budget for the entire Belgian shelf sea, 

which would be a global first. By establishing this baseline carbon budget, we can assess the effect of dedicated Blue Economy activities. 

This breakthrough will in turn unlock major valorization opportunities to create novel products and services within BERNARDO to economically valorize marine carbon budgeting in Blue Economy activities in shelf systems, based on actual unambiguous measurements. It inter alia concerns innovative commercial applications such as carbon footprinting and impact assessment, climate financing and carbon sequestration and offsetting projects, the generation of novel financing strategies, scenario-development for complex projects, etc. We are convinced that these new products and services will foster the development of emerging sectors in shelf seas, such as large-scale climate action and nature restoration projects, NbS, etc.