Seaweed: Model solution for fighting climate change

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 -- Despite seaweed's reputation with some ocean goers, it just might be one of the most powerful tools we have to save the planet from manmade climate change while providing a path to realising many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Aarhus University believe seaweed is a model solution to climate change, biodiversity loss, joblessness, hunger and environmental damage.

In a paper published in Nature Sustainability the co-authors outline how the cultivation and use of seaweed as a carbon capture technology, a job and tax revenue generator, and a food source, can help protect and restore our planet.

“Our research consolidates seaweed farming as an underpinning of a sustainable future,” Professor Carlos Duarte, study lead author said in a statement.

“It is scalable, with a 2,000-fold increase potential, it generates valuable products while also contributing to carbon sequestration below the farm, it produces sustainable fuels, and it displaces carbon-intensive products, thereby providing a range of contributions to climate action.”

Meanwhile, Professor Dorte Krause-Jensen from Aarhus University adds that sustainability standards and consideration of the carrying capacity for seaweed farming need be in place to avoid potential unattended negative consequences of the farming.

The cultivation and use of seaweed, the authors believe, will directly support six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and indirectly support several others.

Achieving zero hunger, supporting good health, making clean energy affordable, as well as supporting industrial innovation, climate action, and ocean conservation, are all outcomes of cultivating seaweed.

KAUST advances science and technology through distinctive and collaborative research integrated with graduate education. It conducts curiosity-driven and goal-oriented research to address global challenges related to food, water, energy, and the environment.

-- BERNAMA