2 min read

🔎 What’s going on?

A study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that protecting whales can capture carbon (CO₂) from the atmosphere. 

😮 Wow, how do they do that? 

Whales are a natural carbon sink in a few ways. Firstly, they accumulate carbon in their protein-rich bodies for centuries (some live for over 200 years!). Secondly, whale poop released into the water contains rich nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and iron - this stimulates the growth of phytoplankton (a marine plant), which similar to land-based plants, absorb CO₂ and give out oxygen. So wherever you find whales, you’ll find plenty of phytoplanktons capturing carbon. Thirdly, when they die, their bodies sink to the bottom of the ocean, taking all that stored carbon with them. When carbon is stored through the activity of marine animals and plants, this is called oceanic blue carbon

❓Why should I care?

A low-tech nature-based carbon capture solution exists today to address the climate crisis we are facing today. Marine biologists estimate that on average each great whale sequesters 33 tons of CO₂. Meanwhile, a tree only stores up to 48 pounds of CO₂ a year. So one whale can store the equivalent of 1000 trees! Economists have taken these calculations a step further to derive a monetary value using carbon pricing. They estimate that the average great whale is worth more than $2million USD and over $1trillion USD for the current stock of great whales. 

🚀 Impressive numbers, but where do we need to be?

Whaling populations are around 1.3 million today but increasing this to 4 to 5 million would capture sufficient carbon to help us stay within 1.5C to 2C. It would take more than 30 years to double the number of whales, so realistically it would take a couple of generations to reach pre-whaling numbers. 

👤 What can I do about it?

As an individual or a business, help clean up our oceans and/or support conservation organisations which: help end the captivity of whales, stop whaling practices, prevent deaths in fishing nets, and create safer routes for whales that avoid accidents with commercial ships. 

If you are part of the financial community, then help create financial mechanisms that value whales and promote the restoration of whaling populations.

Related Articles

error: This content is protected, please email the site administrator for any queries. Thank you!

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More