Market, Academic, and Policy Data for the Spatio-temporal Evolution of Global Blue Carbon

This dataset provides the supporting data and documentation for the manuscript “How do science and market mechanisms shape the spatio-temporal evolution of global blue carbon policy?”. The study examines the global development of blue carbon research, carbon market engagement, and policy recognition, with a focus on their spatial and temporal consistency across countries. The dataset integrates three major dimensions of the global blue carbon landscape: academic research, carbon market activity, and policy/governance recognition. Academic data were compiled from bibliometric records related to blue carbon research. Market data summarizes blue carbon and wetland-related carbon project activities and credit issuance patterns across major voluntary and compliance carbon markets. Policy data were derived from Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and related policy documents, with country-level scoring used to assess the extent to which coastal blue carbon ecosystems are recognized, explicitly framed as carbon sinks or mitigation resources, and operationalized through targets, monitoring, reporting, and verification, finance mechanisms, or greenhouse gas inventory integration. These data support the manuscript’s analysis of how blue carbon has evolved across the research–market–governance interface. The files enable the reproduction of key spatial and temporal analyses, including country-level blue carbon policy scores, temporal trends in academic, market, and governance indicators, and spatial consistency typologies that identify where research attention, market implementation, and policy recognition are aligned or disconnected. The dataset is intended to improve transparency, reproducibility, and reuse of the evidence base developed in the associated study. It may be useful for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in blue carbon governance, climate policy, carbon markets, coastal wetland conservation, and the integration of science, finance, and policy for nature-based climate solutions.