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We all want to give our children a safe climate like the one we were given.
Climate restoration means restoring a climate that’s proven safe for humans over the long term— and doing it by 2050 while our ecosystems, climate systems, as well as social and political systems are sufficiently intact.
For a safe climate, we need safe CO2 levels. To restore safe CO2 levels we need to remove a trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
The climate we enjoyed for 10000 years—from the end of the last Ice Age until about 100 years ago—was stable and safe. Called the “pre-industrial climate” it allowed us to thrive and develop agriculture and civilizations.
In technical terms, pre-industrial CO2 levels were about 275 parts per million (ppm). That means that out of a million molecules of air, 275 are CO2.
The highest CO2 level humans have endured long term is 300 parts per million (ppm).
In the historic Paris Accords of 2015, the world agreed to reach “net-zero emissions” by 2050.
Net zero involves 1) transitioning to clean energy—mostly solar, wind, and batteries—as far as we can and then 2) balancing out ongoing fossil-fuel emissions by removing an equal amount of atmospheric CO2 (hence the “net” in net zero).
Net-zero then means not pumping any more greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere. Transitioning to clean energy is good for the atmosphere as well as environmental and human health. The net-zero goal challenges us to move to clean, renewable energy with all haste.
However, reaching net-zero is not the same as restoring a safe climate.
Most people assume that achieving net-zero emissions will end the climate crisis. But it won’t.
Net-zero means stabilizing CO2 levels where they are. While stabilizing CO2 was appropriate in the 1980’s before climate change was visible, it’s no longer enough.
Now even if we magically achieved net-zero tomorrow, we would still have all the CO2 pumped into the atmosphere over the last 200 years. There’s a trillion tons of this “legacy” CO2. It’s the main engine behind climate chaos.
If we stabilized greenhouse gasses today without removing the legacy CO2, we are likely to see our climate and ecosystems continue to collapse before our eyes. This might be the end of life as we’ve known it.
To restore a safe climate, we need to move to clean energy AND to remove the trillion tons of legacy CO2 we’ve dumped into the atmosphere over the last two centuries.
Humans haven’t pulled a trillion tons of CO2 out of the air before—but Nature has. Many times in the lead-up to ice ages. So we know it can be done. Nature also removes gigatons of CO2 quickly after volcanic eruptions.
About 30 years ago, scientists figured out how to replicate and accelerate these and other natural processes. Climate restoration solutions have been perfected and time-tested by nature; replicating them is proving to be low-tech and remarkably low cost.
By boosting photosynthesis in the ocean which covers most of our planet. Leading up to an ice age, Nature increases dust storms which blow iron dust from drylands out to sea. (Iron is necessary for all life but unlike other nutrients it doesn’t dissolve and linger at the surface—it sinks.)
Adding trace amounts of iron can prompt immediate healthy blooms of phytoplankton, the tiny green plants and algae that make up the base of the marine food web.
Phytoplankton absorb huge amounts of CO2 through photosynthesis. When the phytoplankton (and whatever eats it) dies, it drops to the depths. There, the biocarbon can’t rot or burn, unlike with plants on land.
We call this natural process “ocean iron fertilization” or OIF. It’s like giving an iron supplement to anemic parts of the ocean.
For more information:
info@restoretheclimate.org
Restore the Climate © 2024
For more information:
info@restoretheclimate.org
Restore the Climate © 2024