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OCEAN FERTILIZATION BRIEFING PAPER
Ocean Fertilization
Engineering the world’s climate
December 2008
CONSERVING
BIODIVERSITY
CHANGING THE
CLIMATE FORECAST
ENERGISING THE
FUTURE
MANAGING
ECOSYSTEMS
Jim Gower, Insititute of Ocean Sciences, Canada, 2002
GREENING THE
WORLD ECONOMY
Plankton bloom induced by SERIES experiment in sub-arctic pacific in 2002, 19 days after initial addition of around 1 tonne of iron
The Science
Ocean fertilization is a controversial method proposed for
mitigating rising atmospheric CO2 levels and associated
climate change by stimulating net phytoplankton through
the release of nutrients, such as iron, into certain parts of
the surface ocean. The oceans are currently responsible
for removing a significant quantity of the CO2 added to the
atmosphere by human activity each year, and this carbon
may be sequestered in the ocean for hundreds of years.
Iron can be a limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth,
especially in certain high-nitrogen, low-chlorophyll areas
found in parts of the Southern Ocean, the equatorial
Pacific Ocean and the sub-Arctic Pacific Ocean. Ocean
fertilization involves the addition of iron sulfate or other
nutrients to surface waters in these areas from a ship or
a pipeline, or the pumping of nutrient-rich waters from
the deep ocean into sunlit waters. Research experiments
fertilizing the ocean in this way resulted in phytoplankton
blooms. The theory is that phytoplankton then take up
carbon from sea-water, a portion of them sink to the deep
sea and sequester carbon removed from the atmosphere.
Increasing the sequestration of carbon in the ocean could
assist in decreasing the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere until our global energy economy can make the transition to fewer CO2 emissions. Because so much carbon
might be sequestered, ocean fertilization is an exciting
prospect for the carbon trading market, but it requires a
solid scientific basis to move forward. So far, information
about sequestration potential and environmental impact is
limited.
While several important studies of ocean fertilization
have been undertaken, the efficacy by which it sequesters atmospheric CO2 to the deep sea remains poorly
understood, and we do not understand the full range of
biogeochemical and ecological impacts. Potential impacts
include increased emissions of biogenic gases to the
atmosphere, decreased oxygen content of the underlying waters, and alteration in the living marine community
- from microbes to megafauna.
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
What is happening?
What is at stake?
The commercial sector is becoming interested in funding
research to answer questions about ocean fertilization with
a view to exploring its potential as an effective avenue for
mitigating climate change. One way to fund such research
is by selling carbon offsets. To do so, it will be necessary to
demonstrate that ocean fertilization effectively and quantifiably removes CO2 from the atmosphere, retains that carbon
in the deep ocean for at least 100 years and that the environmental impacts are predictable and acceptable.
Concerns have been raised about the potential environmental impacts of such research. The effects of large-scale
marine geo-engineering involving ocean fertilization are
presently unknown and may not be reversible. Given the
uncertainties it is difficult to judge the relative magnitude of
risks involved. Even individual ocean fertilization experiments could result in significant adverse impacts to the marine environment if conducted inappropriately or in proximity
to particularly sensitive sea areas.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, 2007
Another challenge lies in monitoring impacts of ocean
fertilization experiments. Fertilized ‘patches’ move in three
dimensions and currently monitoring does not provide information on the whole volume fertilized. Unintended impacts
may occur beyond the fertilized patch and the area being
monitored. Quantifying the amount of carbon sequestered is
also difficult and carbon credits should not be issued if carbon sequestration cannot be persuasively quantified. There
is also concern that research projects might be used for
generating and selling carbon offsets, and that commercial
interests in the scientific research might possibly bias the reported outcomes. To get fertilization credits on the voluntary
carbon market, the public should have confidence that the
technology is safe, effective and verifiable. Public perception is key. It is important to ensure that any research done
to study ocean fertilization is of high quality, that the data
are open and reviewed scientifically, and that environmental
impact assessments are conducted. Distinctions must also
be made between marine geo-engineering experiments and
experiments involving fertilization designed to improve our
knowledge of phytoplankton ecology and dynamics.
The Law
Ocean fertilization projects must demonstrate that they
do not pollute the marine environment, which would be
contrary to the requirements of the UN Law of the Sea Convention. In the context of marine geo-engineering projects,
Art. 195 of the UN Law of the Sea Convention requires
countries not to transfer damage or hazards (e.g., excessive
atmospheric greenhouse gases) from one area (the atmosphere) to another (the ocean) or transform one type of pollution (e.g., potentially harmful concentrations of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere) into another (e.g., potentially
harmful concentrations of greenhouse gases in the ocean).
Under the Convention marine geo-engineering projects,
including those that involve ocean fertilization, might under
certain circumstances constitute pollution of the marine
environment, and if geo-engineering experiments cannot
meet the legal requirements for the protection of the marine
environment they should not be allowed to go forward.
Ocean fertilization also falls under the London Convention
and London Protocol on Prevention of Marine Pollution by
Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. The 30th Meeting of
Parties to the London Convention and Protocol in October
2008 proposed a politically binding resolution which, given
the present state of knowledge, effectively prohibits all
ocean fertilization activities other than ‘legitimate scientific
research’ projects. Scientific research proposals should be
assessed on a case-by-case basis and Contracting Parties
are urged to use utmost caution to ensure protection of the
marine environment.
What is IUCN doing?
IUCN organized a workshop on ocean fertilization at the
World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October
2008 bringing together key players in the field. The views
expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of any of
the participants in the Barcelona workshop. IUCN plays an
important role in discussions about ocean fertilization in the
London Convention and other international fora such as the
UN General Assembly, the UNICPOLOS (United Nations
Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and Law of the
Sea), the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD). IUCN represents the environmental and
ecological perspectives on this debate and urges extreme
caution on proceeding with large-scale ocean fertilization
activities before further environmentally-responsible studies
are undertaken and improved understanding exists. IUCN
considers that the sale of carbon offsets for such research
is premature.
For more information:
Gabriel Grimsditch [email protected]
Kristina Gjerde
[email protected]
IUCN Global Marine Programme - www.iucn.org/marine
IUCN Climate Change Initiative - www.iucn.org/climate
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of any of the participants
in the IUCN World Conservation Congress workshop on marine geo-engineering.