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Bluesearch.net and the Importance of the Oceans for the Climate

Bluesearch.net is an eco-friendly search engine that aims to achieve the most sustainable impact with its daily search queries. A portion of the revenue generated from searches is used by the company to implement ocean cleaning measures worldwide. It commissions non-profit organizations to combat environmental issues such as ocean pollution by removing plastic and other waste, thereby fighting climate change. Among others, Bluesearch.net supports the Berlin-based company CleanMyOcean, which has already removed more than 500,000 tons of waste from the oceans. Each of these actions is certified to ensure the transparency of donations.

How Important Are Clean Oceans in the Fight Against Climate Change?

Global warming is progressing faster than we anticipated. Our polar ice caps are melting, and our oceans are becoming polluted. We are in a climate emergency that threatens our planet. According to experts, we are on track for a temperature increase of between three and four degrees Celsius by the year 2100, with these being only global average temperatures. At the poles and on land, the increase can be higher, possibly even double. Therefore, we must act quickly because rising temperatures can have devastating consequences.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that an increase in global temperatures above 1.5 degrees Celsius must be prevented. We have already exceeded one degree Celsius. Therefore, we must reduce our emissions and find a solution to limit the damage already done. One of the simplest solutions and at the same time the strongest weapon in the fight against climate change is clean oceans.

Cleaning the oceans has enormous potential to restore damaged ecosystems and help achieve important conservation and climate goals. Research from ETH Zurich in 2019 found that restoring the oceans is one of the most effective strategies to combat climate change. By removing plastic and other waste, significant amounts of harmful emissions could be reduced.

What Role Does Plastic Waste Play?

Plastic waste is one of the most common waste products in our oceans and a major component of many environmental problems. Humans are drastically changing the balance within marine ecosystems by dumping plastic and other waste into the sea. Alongside phasing out fossil fuels and expanding environmentally friendly renewable energy sources, clean oceans can indeed reduce the amount of harmful emissions. This makes ocean cleaning, along with other measures such as maintaining existing marine areas or preserving coral reefs, a significant biological measure in the fight against climate change.

Oceans Naturally Store Carbon

Oceans are not only fascinating ecosystems that provide food, protection, and medicine to both animals and humans, but they also store or 'sequester' carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. This process is enabled by marine photosynthesis. Carbon sequestration occurs throughout the marine ecosystem, including algae, seagrasses, and the surrounding soils. Using water and sunlight, these marine plants convert CO₂ into sugars, which in turn promote plant growth. The remaining oxygen is then released back into the atmosphere.

On a one-hectare coastal section planted with mixed native marine plants, more than 400 tons of carbon can be sequestered. Even when these plants go through their natural life cycle and die, the carbon is not completely returned to the atmosphere. As they decompose, the surrounding seabed absorbs some of the carbon, which is particularly important for maintaining healthy seabeds. Soils need to remain in good condition to store carbon.

We can think of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere as a landfill. The more carbon people emit or cause, the larger the landfill grows. However, if people emit fewer greenhouse gases, the pile of waste remains. For this reason, clean oceans are extremely important in managing the impacts of climate change. Every year, approximately 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide are absorbed by the oceans. This corresponds to about one-third of the CO₂ emissions released by burning fossil fuels. Estimates suggest that almost two billion hectares of degraded marine area worldwide offer opportunities for restoring the devastated and polluted area, which is about the size of South America. Therefore, cleaning and maintaining the oceans is a crucial solution for climate change.

Reducing Carbon Takes a Long Time

Halting the loss and degradation of marine ecosystems and promoting their restoration has the potential to provide over one-third of the total climate protection measures that scientists say are needed by 2030 to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. What happens from 2030 and beyond depends on the decisions we make today. Marine ecosystems take a long time to recover, and consequently, it also takes a long time for them to sequester significant amounts of carbon. For example, some species of marine plants can sequester more carbon in the first few years than others. Therefore, the type of marine vegetation plays a major role in carbon sequestration. Different species also grow differently. Faster-growing plants, such as some algae species, sequester more carbon in the first few years than others. However, these species also die sooner than others. In contrast, slower-growing plants take longer to sequester carbon. Over the years, they sequester more carbon than fast-growing plants.

Oceans Offer More Than Just Carbon Sequestration

The destruction of marine habitats due to unchecked pollution and changes in land use is the main cause of biodiversity loss. Climate change only exacerbates this problem, so cleaning the oceans, even on a small scale, can restore vital habitats for plants and animals and help address climate change and species extinction simultaneously.

Due to climate change, the frequency of severe weather events such as floods is increasing, the number of hot days with temperatures above 30°C is rising, and the burden of pollution and smog is increasing. To avoid this, clean oceans can make a significant contribution. They prevent floods by intercepting rain. In urban areas, the green space needed for the sea provides a permeable surface that reduces runoff, and the marine vegetation prevents water from infiltrating the ground more quickly. Moreover, marine vegetation improves water quality and lowers surrounding temperatures. Pollution from waste and pollutants can be significantly reduced.

How Important Are Clean Oceans for Biodiversity?

The seas are not only full of carbon. They are also complex ecosystems rich in biodiversity, hosting a rich variety of wildlife, from shade-loving plants and delicate marine inhabitants to nesting birds, various mammals, and rare fish. Especially old marine areas host more species than any other water-based habitat. The larger the distribution area and the number of these plants, microbes, and animal species, or the more diverse an area is, the healthier an ecosystem is considered to be. This is because a more robust and complex habitat can provide different conditions to meet the special needs of a variety of species. Approximately 80% of all water-based plant and animal species in the world live in our seas.

When a marine area is destroyed by pollution or natural disasters, it can also wipe out the incredible variety of animals that live there. Even if a marine area is restored, it will never be the same as before. It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for plants and animals to fully recover, if they ever do. While old marine areas are strong and resilient, young marine areas are weaker and more vulnerable to stressors such as pollution and natural disasters. In healthy marine areas, younger plants and animals benefit from older ones by sharing water and nutrients through underground networks. Young marine inhabitants often do not survive if there are no older species in their surroundings. Some marine areas host endangered species that are found nowhere else in the world. If a particular species goes extinct, there is no turning back, no matter how many new marine areas we create.

What Happens to Newly Cleaned Marine Areas?

Restoring marine areas is not as simple as removing thousands of tons of waste. On the contrary, it is an ongoing process that requires conscious management. Young marine areas must be cared for after cleaning to ensure their survival. Without proper aftercare, the survival rate of plants and animals can be very low. Therefore, instead of focusing on the amount of waste removed, it is better to focus on the number of surviving marine inhabitants. In other words, how many species have actually survived and recovered?

Once the marine areas are cleaned, good progress can be expected. But the goal is far from achieved. What happens to the marine areas in 10 or 20 years? Will they be polluted again? Or will they remain clean? One study found that half of the regenerated marine areas were polluted again within 20 years. Another study found that in parts of Brazil, regrowing marine areas were typically polluted again within five years. Therefore, it should be ensured that not only temporary cleaning is carried out, which will be undone in a few years, but a permanent clean state is achieved. Once the marine areas are cleaned, they should be managed responsibly to ensure they benefit people, wildlife, and the environment. Ultimately, cleaning new marine areas or restoring marine ecosystems is only one part of the fight against climate change. Protecting existing marine areas should be the top priority.