Seaweed a model solution for fighting climate change
Seaweed, as its unfortunate name suggests, can be a nuisance. It
makes a mess of beautiful beaches. It bobs up and down in the waves
in an unsightly blob. And it sticks to unsuspecting swimmers as
they try to enjoy a dip. But despite its reputation with some ocean
goers, seaweed just might be one of the most powerful tools we have
to save the planet from manmade climate change while providing a
path to realizing many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Researchers from KAUST and Aarhus University
believe seaweed is a model solution to climate change, biodiversity
loss, joblessness, hunger and environmental damage. In a paper
published in Nature Sustainability the co-authors outline how the
cultivation and use of seaweed as a carbon capture technology, a
job and tax revenue generator, and a food source, can help protect
and restore our planet.
“Our research consolidates seaweed farming as an
underpinning of a sustainable future,” Professor Carlos Duarte,
study lead author said. “It is scalable, with a 2,000-fold increase
potential, it generates valuable products while also contributing
to carbon sequestration below the farm, it produces sustainable
fuels, and it displaces carbon-intensive products, thereby
providing a range of contributions to climate action. While growing
at sea, seaweed forms an ecosystem that delivers multiple benefits
to the marine environment.”
The cultivation and use of seaweed, the authors
believe, will directly support six of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and indirectly support several others.
Achieving zero hunger, supporting good health, making clean energy
affordable, as well as supporting industrial innovation, climate
action, and ocean conservation, are all outcomes of cultivating
seaweed. Not only is the plant climate positive, profitable, and
edible, but it promises to feed and employ millions while
preserving the planet and fostering poverty reduction and gender
equality.
“Seaweed provides wonderful materials for a range
of applications, grounded in their amazing diversity, as seaweed
are as far apart from a genomic perspective as mushrooms and
elephants. This genomic diversity provides a phenomenal source of
new materials across a range of industries, from food, to fuels and
plastics,” Duarte said.
The pitch, as much as there is one, is that
seaweed cultivation must be ramped up significantly. This, of
course, might encounter roadblocks in legislatures around the world
as western regulations, where seaweed farming is just starting, are
quite unwelcoming to seaweed aquaculture. The paper outlines in
broad terms the objections that could be raised and addresses them
in turn.
“Because seaweed farming is a new industry in
western nations, existing regulatory frameworks do not facilitate
its development. In some nations it is easier to get a concession
for marine oil and gas extraction than for a seaweed farm. Creating
a friendlier regulatory environment that encourages, rather than
deter, seaweed farming will be critical to delivering on its
potential.”
“Currently, seaweed farming occupies about 2,000
Km2 of land, compared to about 60 million Km2 land food producing
systems occupy. We consider that about 4 million Km2 of ocean can
support seaweed aquaculture while delivering positive impacts on
the marine environment. In the rump-up to COP26, we consider that
scaling seaweed farming can be a wedge of a regenerative approach
to our oceans, delivering climate action while alleviating hunger
and poverty,” Duarte said.
Professor Dorte Krause-Jensen from Aarhus University adds that
sustainability standards and consideration of the carrying capacity
for seaweed farming need be in place to avoid potential unattended
negative consequences the farming.
“The utilisation of seaweed in a cascading
biorefinery extracting biomolecules sequentially, offers a path to
maximise the value of the biomass and render seaweed farming
profitable, even in Western countries where costs are higher” said
senior researcher Annette Bruhn of Aarhus University. “Promoting
sustainable seaweed cultivation as an emission capture and
utilisation technology supporting the circular bioeconomy, calls
for a cross-sectorial approach to solving societal challenges. We
need a disruption of the traditional way of thinking climate,
environment and resource provision in each their sector and we need
partnerships between science, industry and authorities”.
About KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST) advances science and technology through distinctive and
collaborative research integrated with graduate education. Located
on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia, KAUST conducts
curiosity-driven and goal-oriented research to address global
challenges related to food, water, energy, and the environment.
Established in 2009, KAUST is a catalyst for
innovation, economic development and social prosperity in Saudi
Arabia and the world. The University currently educates and trains
master’s and doctoral students, supported by an academic community
of faculty members, postdoctoral fellows and research scientists.
With over 100 nationalities working and living at KAUST, the
University brings together people and ideas from all over the
world.
To learn more visit kaust.edu.sa.
About Aarhus
Aarhus University has been achieving excellence in
research and education since 1928. Being a top 100 university with
more than 50 Masters and Bachelors educations in English, Aarhus
University is a leading globally oriented university with a strong
engagement in the solving the societal challenges on local and
global scale.
Department of Bioscience provide teaching,
research and consultancy in all aspects of life; from bacteria to
whales, from genes to ecosystems and from fundamental research to
applied biology in nature management and biotechnology.
To learn more visit
https://international.au.dk/
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