Research shows that seaweed can be a climate solution and can be used in food, medicine and bioenergy.
The study, conducted by Craig Douglas, partner at the European climate tech venture capital firm World Fund, and Ross Brooks, partner and director of ocean investments at Katapult VC, points to opportunities for seaweed to replace fossil fuels in products and sequester carbon.
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface and offer enormous potential for ocean-based climate solutions. Seaweed can store around 50 times the carbon in the atmosphere and has already sequestered around 30% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.
The report suggests that short-term solutions include using seaweed to replace fossil fuel products, such as making bioplastics and bioenergy.
Furthermore, seaweed can be widely used as a food source and as animal feed to reduce methane emissions from the livestock industry.
Seaweed also serves as an important habitat for other marine life and absorbs excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the waters where it grows.
In the long term, seaweed has an incredibly high potential for carbon sequestration, potentially becoming one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth.
Research on seaweed is just beginning, and studies of new and existing varieties will lead to improved seaweed resilience, growth, yield consistency, and improved composition for end-market applications.
Sources:
Forbes (2024.6.11) Seaweed Could Have ‘Massive’ Climate Mitigation Impact, Study Finds
