In theory, much greater CO2 drawdown is possible if the growth of marine phytoplankton (microscopic floating algae) can be increased by ocean fertilisation, for parts of the ocean where dissolved nutrients in seawater are in short supply. Whilst ocean ecosystem restoration is undoubtedly worthwhile for the many non-climatic benefits it can provide, signatories of the Paris Climate Change Agreement are required to communicate their emission reduction strategies and quantify their national contributions. The removal also cannot be easily attributable to any single country. The main problem in using this approach for climate mitigation is that the additional carbon removed from the atmosphere on a long-term basis is likely to be relatively small. The need to end overfishing through improved ocean protection is internationally recognised by UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, and associated targets of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Parks Congress. The resulting increase in the abundance of larger organisms, such as fish and whales would transfer organic carbon from surface waters to deeper layers through faeces and deadfall, slowing the return of that carbon to the atmosphere. Protecting marine ecosystems by ending overfishing and other conservation actions can reinstate the role of top predators in marine food webs, particularly those of the deep ocean - found in depths beyond 200 metres. The most straightforward approach is a ‘ nature-based solution’, restoring the natural functions and processes already provided by our environment. Doing so on a large scale would help deliver the net zero goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. But considerations beyond just the financial commitments of research and development, costed at US$2.5 billion, will need to be taken into account.Įither biology or chemistry could be used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to store it in the ocean.
One possibility is increasing the ocean’s uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in the deep. Yet the ocean offers opportunities: it could also be a source of solutions rather than just a victim of climate change.
More than 90 per cent of the extra heat from global warming has gone into the deep blue sea, with associated climate-driven changes reducing the productivity of fisheries and threatening more than 600 million people through sea-level rise. The ocean and climate are inextricably linked.
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