A great global reckoning is upon us. Even before King Charles III uttered the first words of welcome at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, we knew the score: The world is failing to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement imperative of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Climate pledges from nearly 200 countries are missing their targets, and even if all current pledges are met, the just-released Emissions Gap Report concludes that the world is on track to warm by nearly 3 degrees Celsius.
The stark reality of our collective failure will be laid bare for all to see at COP28 with the culmination of the first Global Stocktake, the term used to describe an assessment of the progress made by world to combat climate change.
The question is now, what are we going to do about it?
Our vast oceans, coastal marshes, wetlands and lakes are an essential yet underutilized ally in the fight against climate change. They hold the key to rapid, significant removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This is the overlooked pathway to gigaton carbon removal. We can harness the carbon-absorbing powers of water through nature-based methods of carbon removal. Examples include harmful algal bloom remediation, kelp cultivation, seaweed farming, deep sea storage, electrolysis and conservation practices. We can remove millions of tons of carbon and help mitigate our climate crisis.
This is because water (and the plant life found within) is our planet’s greatest natural carbon sink. As we pursue land-based carbon removal methods, we can also do more to leverage water-based methods. But we cannot rely solely on land-based carbon capture technologies to achieve net zero by 2050.
As oil majors ramp up production with mergers and the acquisition of new drilling sites, the only certainty is that phasing out fossil fuels will be a long slog. Tapping into the awesome power of water is the answer.
Oceans absorb about 31% of global CO2 emissions and store 20 times more CO2 than all terrestrial plants and soil combined. Coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses, store 10 times more carbon than trees. We can leverage these to reduce the emissions choking our atmosphere. Ocean-based climate solutions could slash the emissions gap by up to 35% by 2050.
What does that look like?
At least 12 million square miles of ocean are covered with harmful algal blooms. These algae are carbon-soaking superheroes, absorbing atmospheric CO2 at an astonishing rate and removing millions of tons of carbon through their natural process of photosynthesis.
Remediating algal blooms can spark a biological signal known as programmed cell death. The cells collapse and sink to the sediment carrying with them the carbon they have sequestered. In this process, the CO2 binds itself to the plants and is purified.
Nontoxic algae can move in and once again thrive, helping replenish the health of the ecosystem over time.
By leveraging the power of water in addressing our climate crisis, we may succeed not only in achieving net zero emissions, but we have the potential to become carbon-negative. Dare we dream so big?
Ending on Tuesday, the COP28 conference presents an opportunity for such boldness. Water is on the official agenda for only the second time in the history of the UN climate conference, an annual event since 1995. Will those who gather in Dubai entertain bold new ideas and strengthen their resolve to deliver on their commitments, or will we fail to meet the urgency of the moment? Will we be able to look back and say that we did not, in fact, dream too big?
Water is our most precious natural resource. There is no solution to our climate crisis without it. Let us dive in and get to work.
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