Nature and Biodiversity

This is how the oceans can be used to help fight climate change

Oceans, climate change, environment.

This is how we can harness the oceans to help us battle climate change. Image: Unsplash/Max Berger

Briony Harris
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
This article is part of: Virtual Ocean Dialogues
  • The ocean could contribute much more to renewable energy creation, says a new report.
  • Scientists argue that ocean solutions should be incorporated into Green New Deal policies.
  • The World Economic Forum’s Virtual Ocean Dialogues is debating how the world’s oceans should be managed and protected.

Don’t overlook the power of the oceans to help combat climate change. That is the message of a group of scientists who believe that the world’s oceans are too often viewed as victims of climate change – for example, rising sea levels or damaged coral reefs – rather than recognized as part of the solution.

Policymakers around the world are developing strategies to offset climate change, with particular emphasis on renewable energy, food security, sustainable transport and restoring natural habitats like forests. Such policies have been grouped together in the United States and elsewhere and referred to as the Green New Deal.

Have you read?

Now, a group of leading US scientists is calling for oceans to play a much greater role in the development of such policies, suggesting that some blue should be mixed in with the green, to make a "Teal Deal".

The Teal Deal
Ocean based climate solutions. Image: Society for Conservation Biology

Here are four ways the scientists believe the ocean’s potential should be included in policies to tackle climate change, according to research they published in the journal Conservation Letters.

1. A focus on renewable energy

The ocean’s winds, waves and currents represent a massive source of clean energy that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while meeting electricity demand.

Offshore winds blow harder and more consistently than those on land, helping provide an uninterrupted supply of renewable energy. It is also windiest in the afternoon and evening, when available renewable energy from solar declines, but daily electricity demand is at its highest.

On top of this, new technology to harness the energy of waves and currents has great potential to contribute to the generation of renewable energy.

Discover

What's the World Economic Forum doing about the ocean?

2. Sustainable transport

Much of the world’s global trade is transported at sea. And while greenhouse gas emissions from this are relatively high, there are many solutions to help make sea travel more sustainable.

The report says that emissions could be reduced by more than 75% by using a combination of currently available technologies, including changing hull designs, switching to liquified natural gas, biofuels and wind power, or optimizing ship speed and capacity.

3. Food security

Marine fisheries remain one of the most sustainable sources of protein for human consumption and have a lower overall carbon footprint than many land-based food sources.

And there is further potential in aquaculture – the process of specifically growing or rearing fish or plants like seaweed in the oceans.

4. Restoring habitats

Restoring coastal habitats such as mangroves, tidal wetlands and kelp forests will help capture and store carbon dioxide, preventing it from entering the atmosphere.

In addition, coastal habitat restoration will help protect against floods or erosion, offsetting the impact of more extreme weather.

The report comes as leading experts meet to discuss the future of the oceans as part of the World Economic Forum’s Oceans Dialogue virtual meeting. Visit the event page to watch sessions or catch up through the live blog.

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Beyond the ocean

Related topics:
Nature and BiodiversityEnergy Transition
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Ocean is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

How the Himalayas are being restored through participatory forest management

Aditi Mishra and Ar. Sachin Uniyal

October 31, 2024

Biodiversity declining even faster in 'protected areas', and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum