Beyond the Horizon – Ocean Solutions to Climate Change and the Carbon Economy

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The global ocean, covering 71 % of the planet, is a source of solutions to our immediate climate change challenges of producing low carbon energy and sequestering carbon.

The ocean is a global, interconnected ecosystem that is closely intertwined with our planet’s climate system. For example, ocean phytoplankton produce more than 50% of our oxygen and the ocean absorbs more than 25 % of the anthropogenic CO2 and 90% of the excess heat emitted annually into the atmosphere. We can and must look beyond our current horizon to see the ocean as a source of solutions to the climate change challenges facing our planet. In particular, the ocean has enormous potential to help by producing low carbon energy and by sequestering atmospheric carbon.