2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting

February 11-16

At the COP 21 Climate Conference, ambitious targets were set for stabilizing mean global temperature. To attain these targets, society must reduce CO₂ emissions to near zero by mid-century and subsequently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere during the latter half of the century. Here, I will describe how the production of marine microalgae can provide society with an environmentally favorable approach for meeting the COP 21 climate targets. When cultivated with proper attention to power, carbon, and nutrient sources, microalgae can produce a variety of biopetroleum products, including carbon neutral biofuels for transportation and long-lived, potentially carbon-negative construction materials for the built environment. In addition to mitigating and potentially reversing the effects of fossil CO₂ emissions directly, microalgae can play an important indirect role. Because microalgae exhibit much higher primary production rates than terrestrial plants, they require much less land area to produce an equivalent amount of food. On a global scale, the avoided emissions resulting from displacement of conventional agriculture may exceed the benefits of microalgae biofuels in achieving climate stabilization targets. Simultaneously, the production of marine microalgae has the potential to supply much of the protein necessary to feed a global population approaching 10 billion people by 2050.

• ES - Ecology and Social Interactions
• PC - Past, Present and Future Climate