21.06.07 US EPA calls for "careful evaluation"
of ocean sequestration project
The US is to ask the UN to scrutinise the activities of a company that aims to
generate carbon credits by “seeding” oceans with iron dust to grow plankton
blooms, a process that could remove millions of tonnes of global warming gases
from the atmosphere, advocates of the technology claim.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted documents to the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) calling for a close evaluation of
activities carried out by Planktos, a New York-listed company that is involved
in carbon sequestration projects.
A
meeting next week of the IMO’s London Convention, which governs the dumping of
materials at sea, will discuss the submission from the US, which is concerned
about Planktos' plans to release 100 short tonnes of iron dust in a 10,000
square kilometre area in the Pacific Ocean, around
The
company hopes adding dust to the ocean will generate carbon credits under the
Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), which allows carbon credits
to be issued from greenhouse gas reduction projects.
Planktos
hopes to sell the credits to companies obliged to reduce emissions in the
European emissions trading scheme, as well as into the voluntary emission
reduction market.
The
EPA said Planktos would use "a non-United States flagged vessel for
releasing the iron so as not to be subject to regulation under the United
States Ocean Dumping Act." It added that the company has not received any
authorisation permits from the
Planktos
said in a statement that its activities did not breach any aspects of maritime
law and said that $100 million of research “clearly demonstrated the
restorative power and minimal side effects of ocean iron replenishment.”
Producing
a methodology
Planktos’
president, Russ George, said the company was in talks with one of the main
European companies involved in auditing greenhouse gas reduction projects about
drawing up a methodology to generate carbon credits.
“We
haven’t signed a contract yet, but we could be in position to submit a
methodology to the executive board within 6-9 months,” George added.
Fertilising
the ocean with one bloom of plankton has the potential to remove 1 million
tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generate and equivalent amount
of carbon credits, George said.
He
added: “It’s very feasible that we could remove tens of million of tonnes every
year.”
However,
scientists disagree on how much carbon dioxide is soaked up by plankton blooms,
and whether fertilisation using iron has a long-term effect on marine life and
the atmosphere.
Specialists
claim that ocean sequestration reduces greenhouse gases only when the plankton
that has soaked up carbon sinks to deep waters, where it can remain for
hundreds of years.
But
if the plankton remains near the ocean’s surface, the material breaks up and is
released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
“The
overwhelming scientific conclusion based upon the numerous governmental and
intergovernmental experiments is that iron seeding is risky and may only
temporarily sequester carbon dioxide leaving the CO2 below the surface just
long enough for private geo-engineers to cash their cheques” said Jim Thomas,
spokesman for the ETC Group, a Canadian watchdog on biotechnology.
Planktos
said the EPA’s concerns would not impact the company’s activities as it would
use a non-US flagged vessel to release iron into the sea, while its research
vessel, which does fly the Stars and Stripes, would carry out monitoring
activities.
Two
other companies are active in developing plans for ocean sequestration, Climos
and Greensea.