Kelp to the Rescue in the Fight Against Global Warming

A conservation organization based in Vancouver, Canada, is promoting the addition of seaforestation to our collective toolbox against climate change as practical actions are needed to reduce carbon emissions.

“One such solution some ocean-based NGOs are actively working on is to restore, cultivate, and protect the world’s underwater forests,” says Lasse Gustavsson, president, and CEO of Ocean Wise.

Kelp planting — or seaforestation — is an ocean-based solution that has both climate fighting, and biodiversity protecting attributes. Kelp forests have the potential to draw down carbon from the atmosphere. Indeed, kelp can sequester up to 20 times more carbon than trees without running the risk of releasing it back through burning. Their carbon dioxide removal potential is massive: one square kilometer could capture 1,000 tons of CO₂ annually, or the equivalent of heating more than 600 homes. Seaforestation provides habitat, oxygen, and food to a vast number of marine species including octopi, sea otters, herring, and sea lions, but also land-based species. By feeding cattle with kelp, methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 98%.