Polar oceans could help mitigate climate change – but science and policy are not yet ready to recognise them

Various systems on our planet absorb large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, such as forests, soils and oceans. Carbon stored by marine ecosystems is referred to as ‘blue carbon’. The Arctic and Antarctic represent around 20% of the global ocean and are experiencing a rapid environmental change. As sea ice retreats and habitats shift, the processes through which polar ecosystems capture, transport and store carbon are also changing, yet polar systems remain largely unrecognized within blue-carbon approaches that have traditionally focused on tropical and temperate coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows.

A new review by an international team of polar scientists, published within the Horizon Europe project POMP (Polar Ocean Mitigation Potential) in which the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) is also involved, assesses whether the Arctic and Antarctic oceans could be better incorporated into the frameworks that address climate change and protect biodiversity. The review examines which polar habitats could be managed for their carbon-storage benefits, what currently limits their inclusion in policy frameworks, and what is needed to close the most important scientific and governance gaps.

Around 10% of the world’s oceans are currently protected, and polar regions remain among the least protected of all. Against this backdrop, the authors argue that a precautionary approach could help protect relatively intact, carbon-rich and biodiverse habitats before increasing human pressures make them harder to conserve. This would provide climate and biodiversity benefits while scientific understanding continues to develop. The review calls for four coordinated actions: greater investment in polar blue-carbon research; precautionary protection of known carbon-rich and vulnerable habitats; management approaches that consider carbon storage alongside biodiversity; and clearer pathways for recognizing substantial natural carbon stores within policy frameworks. 

However, the review emphasizes, that this does not mean that polar blue carbon is ready to be treated as a conventional carbon-offset mechanism: significant uncertainties around measurement, additionality and permanence remain. Rather, existing carbon-rich ecosystems should be protected and the scientific and policy foundations needed for their future recognition should be strengthened. This year, the impact of climate change became dramatically apparent across all temperate regions. The poles are on the forefront of this. “Our governments need to take actions to curb climate change as well as protect natural systems that could help mitigate climate change”, says Prof. Judith Hauck, biogeoscientist am AWI. “Next to drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting vulnerable polar systems and their immense biological carbon stores as part of an international effort would be a good start.”

About POMP

POMP (Polar Ocean Mitigation Potential) is a Horizon Europe project studying how climate change affects biodiversity and carbon capture and storage in Arctic and Antarctic marine ecosystems. Coordinated by Aarhus University, POMP brings together 10 beneficiaries and 5 associated partners from Denmark, Norway, Germany, Greenland, France, Portugal, Canada and the UK, combining field data, ecosystem models and remote sensing to inform marine protected-area design and climate policy. POMP is funded by the European Union and, for UK-based partners, by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
www.pomp-project.eu