Published on TheFutureEconomy.ca October 4, 2024.
Removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is as essential to planetary health as drastically reducing emissions, and our oceans offer the most promising prospects.
Covering 71% of Earth’s surface, the ocean is already doing the heavy lifting when it comes to countering the effects of global warming, absorbing 30% of the CO2 and 90% of the heat. Those natural capabilities can be further enhanced by emerging technologies that aim to store atmospheric carbon, such as kelp farms that draw down CO2 to the permanent storage of captured carbon in the sub-seafloor.
Canada is in an ideal position geographically and scientifically to both advance new technologies and become a leader in the Blue Economy, whose value globally could reach $3 trillion USD by 2030, according to pre-COVID figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
But while this country has the world’s longest coastline at 202,080 kilometres, which is roughly 10 times longer than that of the US coastline, Canada hasn’t kept up with investment in marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) innovation.
And if we don’t dive in quickly, we’re going to be left behind, to the detriment of both the environment and our economy.
Ocean Covers Most of the Planet, Offers the Most Carbon Solutions
Terrestrial solutions to draw down carbon, such as the planting of millions of trees, are popular among politicians and the public. We must take advantage of all solutions, but my calculations show that even four billion trees would remove less than one day’s worth of carbon from the atmosphere. As land makes up just under a third of the Earth’s surface, enhancing the carbon-removing work of the ocean that covers the majority of the planet offers much more potential.
“Even four billion trees would remove less than one day’s worth of carbon from the atmosphere.”
Along with deep decarbonization, we must pursue large-scale carbon removal from the atmosphere to combat the climate crisis. How large? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report states that all reasonable scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels require carbon removal at an estimated rate of six to ten gigatons annually by 2050.
Innovation has always propelled humankind to reach higher, work smarter and dream with greater ingenuity. When it comes to our atmosphere, our ocean, and our Blue Economy, humankind needs to be more innovative than ever before.
“All reasonable scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels require carbon removal at an estimated rate of six to ten gigatons annually by 2050.”
One mCDR solution we at Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) are pursuing with an international team of researchers offers climate change mitigation on a global scale. The proposed demonstration site for this technology is Cascadia Basin, located within ONC’s subsea observatory NEPTUNE, off the coast of British Columbia. This one basin alone has the potential to permanently remove 750 gigatons, or 15 years’ worth, of global emissions.
Solid Carbon is an offshore technology that aims to turn carbon dioxide into rock by drawing CO2 from the air and injecting it into ocean basalt below the seafloor, where it will react with the basalt and mineralize over time, providing a durable and vast reservoir for the removal of emissions. Unlike the counterpart approach of burying CO2—gas on land could potentially leak and requires ongoing costly monitoring forever—this technology offers a permanent, rock-solid solution to our carbon problem.
Solid Carbon could catapult Canada as a global leader in this viable negative emissions technology that can be scaled up for use in ocean basalt basins around the world. Years of research by this team has shown that the project is feasible, safe and scalable. Now, we need the money to make it happen. It’s time for Canadian governments, industries and investors to step up.
Canada’s Coastline and Infrastructure Offer a Path to World Leadership
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Canada should also look to opportunities for partnership in advancing mCDR technologies in the Blue Economy. The US has shown real leadership by investing billions of dollars in direct air capture as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Ottawa should consider creating regional Blue Economy hubs—on both the east and west coasts—that aid investor education, industry collaboration and academic participation.”
There’s plenty of investment by both the US government and the nation’s private sector that shows they are comfortable with the risks associated with exploration and research, given what is at stake without major scientific advances. Canada must match that boldness.
Ottawa should consider creating regional Blue Economy hubs—on both the east and west coasts—that aid investor education, industry collaboration and academic participation.
This regional approach would leverage current expertise, such as that at ONC, which has fostered many valued local partnerships and relationships with Indigenous communities. Increasing Indigenous participation in the ocean economy starts with leadership and knowledge from First Nations, Inuit and Métis in the design of programs and opportunities, including global ocean forums.
As well, the government can aid the creation of new blue workforce, allowing workers to transition from the fossil-fuel-based sector. For instance, as the sun sets on the oil and gas industry, Canada should analyze how best to repurpose the highly skilled, highly technical knowledge and experience of these experts, and transition them to work and lead in new and emerging Blue Economy industries.
Removing Canada’s Barriers to Success
But government needs to act with urgency, removing regulatory hurdles and investing in solutions we have on the table to keep the planet habitable for humans and biodiversity—and because that’s where the economy is going.
The federal and provincial governments need to honour commitments to redirect subsidies from the oil and gas industry to a new, clean energy future and invest in Solid Carbon and other technologies being researched. These include enhanced ocean alkalinity, electrochemical removal of carbon from seawater and enhanced upwelling and downwelling. Ocean climate solutions should not be a licence for business-as-usual.
“Sustained, long-term ocean health measurements are critical for documenting ocean change and determining causal links, and form the basis for evidence-informed decision-making."
Equally critical is that development of mCDR technologies be accompanied by monitoring and testing that assure their efficacy, that they don’t cause environmental harm, and that any potential risks are outweighed by the benefits. Sustained, long-term ocean health measurements are critical for documenting ocean change and determining causal links, and form the basis for evidence-informed decision-making. ONC’s network of world-leading ocean observatories is ideally equipped to provide such services.
As well, transparency of and access to data, to which ONC is committed, as demonstrated by our Oceans 3.0 data portal, will provide assurances to governments, investors and citizens.
With research infrastructure in place and government will—and funding—much of this work can be advanced quickly, and it’s here Canada could take a page out of the U.S. playbook.
In a Massive Ocean Disaster, a Lesson on Rapid Mobilization
I’ll share a personal/professional story: When I worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy advising the administration of president Barack Obama on oceans, the Arctic and climate change, I was appointed to a panel gathered by the secretary of energy, Steven Chu, to deal with the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
Within a matter of weeks, the panel and the experts that advised us came up with a strategy: temporary airports were set up for managing aircraft response; remotely operated vehicles were mobilized at a scale never seen before; and other solutions were designed and assembled for the demands of deep water that stopped the flow of oil into the ocean.
The rapid gathering and deployment of technology was remarkable and historic.
Imagine, then, what we in Canada could do—right now—to mimic that scale of mobilization and address the climate crisis with ongoing scientific development, marshalling our existing technologies, and with investment both from the public and private sectors.
Canada is already exhibiting leadership in ocean investing, protection and technology. Building a smarter ocean economy in Canada creates sustainable ecosystems and delivers climate solutions. To advance a truly innovative national agenda, we must take this stimulus opportunity and invest in a future Blue Economy for a sustainable planet, making Canadians the biggest beneficiary.
We cannot afford to let this ship sail without us. And if we don’t take the helm now, others surely will.
