Sinking seaweed in the deep ocean for carbon neutrality is ahead of science and beyond the ethics

Abstract

Sinking vast amounts of seaweed in the deep ocean is currently being proposed as a promising ocean carbon dioxide removal strategy as well as a natural-based solution to mitigate climate change. Still, marketable carbon offsets through large-scale seaweed sinking in the deep ocean lack documentation and could involve unintended environmental and social consequences. Managing the risks requires a number of urgent actions.

Keywords

• seaweed
• carbon sink
• aquaculture
• governance
• unintended consequences
• carbon sequestration