Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate

Sala, Enric; Mayorga, Juan; Bradley, Darcy; Cabral, Reniel B.; Atwood, Trisha B.; Auber, Arnaud; Cheung, William W. L.; Costello, Christopher; Ferretti, Francesco; Friedlander, Alan M.; Gaines, Steven D.; Garilao, Cristina; Goodell, Whitney; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Hinson, Audra; Kaschner, Kristin; Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen; Leprieur, Fabien; McGowan, Jennifer; Morgan, Lance E.; Mouillot, David; Palacios‐Abrantes, Juliano; Possingham, Hugh P.; Rechberger, Kristin D.; Worm, Boris; Lubchenco, Jane

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03371-z

Cited by 482 publications

(450 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…While the land and emissions impact of seafood consumption has received comparably little attention, several studies have pointed to at least 500 Mt of CO 2 equivalent emissions per year from seafood (MacLeod et al, 2020; Parker et al, 2018; Poore and Nemecek, 2018). Recent work has also suggested that the disruption of carbon storage due to seafood harvesting via trawling has an effect equivalent of approximately 1.0 Gt of CO 2 emissions per year (Sala et al, 2021). Based on these published estimates, accounting for seafood consumption would increase the impact of animal food consumption measured in 2100 by the equivalent of an additional approximately 120 Gt CO 2 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century

Brown

2021

Preprint

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We used public data on greenhouse-gas emissions and land use to evaluate the potential impact of eliminating animal agriculture on atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, and global warming potential. We first updated estimates of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock and livestock feed production. We used these data, along with recent estimates of the atmospheric carbon dioxide that could be converted by photosynthesis into perennial biomass on land currently engaged in animal agriculture, to develop models of net anthropogenic emissions under food-system scenarios ranging from business as usual to the complete elimination of animal agriculture. We then used simple simulations to project atmospheric levels of these three gases through the end of the century under each scenario. Using cumulative differences in radiative forcing as a measure of the impact of different diets, we found that a gradual transition over the next 15 years to a plant-only diet would have the same effect through the rest of the century as an annual reduction of 28 Gt of CO2 emissions. This would effectively negate 56 percent of global emissions at the current rate of 50 Gt CO2eq per year, with a net negation of 2,200 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions by the year 2100. The climate benefits would accrue rapidly - most in the first few decades, effectively pausing greenhouse-gas accumulation for 30 years. These results establish the replacement of animal agriculture as by far the most powerful option in our arsenal of climate-defense strategies, especially given the urgency of the climate threat. How to orchestrate such a shift to maximize its beneficial environmental, public health, food security, economic and social consequences and minimize potential harms should therefore be at the center of climate policy discussions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century

Brown

2021

Preprint

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“…Given that conservation strategies alone cannot reverse the loss of natural capital (i.e. well-functioning and resilient ecosystems and their native biodiversity), we must also reverse current trends from degradation toward conservation and ecologically sustainable use, aided by restoration actions where degradation has already taken place (Possingham et al 2015;Sala et al 2021).…”

Section: The Un Decade On Ecosystem Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But these efforts underrepresent marine ecosystems, especially those far from the coasts. Coastal and oceanic ecosystems need such studies, which could help raise interest and awareness of their socio-economic and cultural importance and of the services they provide to people at local, regional, and global scales (Sala et al 2021).…”

Section: Citizen Science and Public Engagement For Marine Ecosystem Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Danovaro

Aronson

Cimino

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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Multiple human impacts on natural ecosystems cause ongoing widespread habitat loss, with consequent decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Seas and oceans, the largest biomes of the biosphere, show increasing numbers of degraded habitats. Ecological restoration offers a major tool to reverse this trend and recover biodiversity, along with human health and wellbeing. The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration promotes global-scale restoration of degraded habitats and we can exploit lessons learned from terrestrial restoration projects to improve and accelerate marine ecosystem restoration science, practice, and policy. Nonetheless, major differences in land and sea limit direct transfer of terrestrial approaches. Limited ecosystem baselines, greater stochasticity and connectivity, longer timescales needed for effective restoration, associated high costs and advanced technologies required to access and intervene in marine environments (especially in the deep sea), and difficulty in scaling up restoration efforts all hinder the effectiveness and expansion of marine ecosystem restoration. Pilot actions in European waters over ca 5 years in the EU-funded MERCES consortium (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas) have identified and developed new, promising tools and strategies to catalyze restoration actions, including engagement of funding organizations, governmental bodies, scientists, and citizens. We are now better positioned to implement restoration actions on a wide range of protected, vulnerable, and critical marine habitats, including seagrass meadows, algal forests, shallow rocky shore, and even some deep-sea habitats. Outcomes from the MERCES project support future restoration initiatives by demonstrating restoration potential in the marine environment.

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“…Research published in Nature this week could help to resolve some of these tensions when establishing protected areas. Conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence Enric Sala and his colleagues present a model showing how the ocean could be protected in a way that optimizes both environmental and fishing-industry benefits 1 . This model needs to be studied carefully as talks progress, because it could help nations to see where compromises are possible.…”

Section: A Proposal That Weighs Up Options For Meeting Climate Consementioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean protection needs a spirit of compromise

2021

Nature

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Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate

Cited by 482 publications

References 81 publications

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Ocean protection needs a spirit of compromise

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Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate

Cited by 482 publications

References 81 publications

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO2emissions this century

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO2emissions this century

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Ocean protection needs a spirit of compromise

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century

Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO₂emissions this century