The Power of Kelp

To reduce the effect greenhouse gases have on our planet, scientists are looking at ways to reduce the carbon dioxide which builds up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Big companies are investing in technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions. But nature has been doing this for thousands of years.

Trees sequester carbon naturally by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into biomass.

Biologic carbon sequestration is the term for a natural storage of atmospheric carbon in vegetation, soils, tress and sea life.

Climate scientists have shown that reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can lead to a decrease in the average global temperature.

The simplest and most efficient way to capture more carbon is to plant more trees and look after the forests we have, limiting the amount of deforestation and reducing the amount of forests cleared for building or agricultural use, but there has to be a fine balance, we need agriculture to thrive in order to reduce the amount of food products that have to be imported.

According to climate change advisers, the UK needs to plant 1.5 billion more trees in order to reach goals on carbon dioxide extraction and help to restore natural habitats.

The Committee on Climate Change wants to see 27,000 hectares of trees planted a year by 2030. But it’s not just the forests and woodlands that create biological carbon sequestration.

Kelp and seaweeds can remove nearly 200 million tonnes of CO2 every year.

Kelp soaks up vast amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. Eventually the kelp sinks to the bottom of the ocean and turns into sediment. When you think of the fossil fuels we burn for energy now, like coal and oil, they started out as plants millions of years ago, time and natural processes transformed it into the sought after minerals.

There are numerous bio sequestration start ups being created, all vying to use the ocean to fight against climate change by using seaweed to sequester CO2 from the water and the atmosphere.

Kelp grows 30 times faster than trees, and with over two-thirds of Earth covered by water, it’s perhaps not surprising that attention is now being turned to our oceans to resolve the emissions problem.

Howard Gunstock, co-founder of Carbon Kapture, the UK’s first kelp farm dedicated to permanent carbon sequestration says; “Our first seaweed farms are in Ireland, and we are waiting for our licences to operate in Wales and other locations. Our vision is simple: ‘Carbon Negative, Climate Positive’”. “Carbon Kapture isn’t just removing CO2, we’ve created a business model that creates a circular economy; we sequester CO2 in seaweed to help our planet heal, and create other positive impacts by locking that CO2 away… forever.”