On the Co-Evolution of Carbon Sinks, Climate Change and Society

Big victory for science in 2015: the Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted. The United Nations finally recognized the imperatives of the climate research community to act quickly to limit climate change. A surprise: The Paris Agreement stipulates that world governments should aim to achieve “a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases”, suddenly promoting research on carbon sinks at the forefront of policymaking. But what’s up with the carbon sink? In my talk, I will review the recent advances in understanding the role of the ocean carbon sink for the climate system. I will provide a perspective on modeling past and future changes in the carbon cycle, including modeling its critical ecosystem component. I will share my own experience on how to reach policy and public audiences to ensure research helps inform environmental decisions and sparks the imagination of the public. Finally I will try and harness a bit of the power of new media to entice our community into a low-carbon research space.