When the United Nations released its World Ocean Assessment in 2015, it was clear that the oceans were seriously degraded, with stressors on these environments projected to increase. The 2021 Assessment, released in April, shows that they have further declined, bringing us ever closer to losing the structure, function, and benefits of Earth's marine systems. One way forward might be to focus on “blue carbon” ecosystems and the incentives they offer through carbon credits linked to decreasing carbon emissions.