Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
from the meetings, such as the Monaco Declaration
and the 'Research priorities for ocean acidii cation'
revisited and updated during the meetings.
to consequences that are likely to occur as a result
of ocean acidii cation (Bijma
et al.
2009 ). The
potential cost to society is not clear, but there is a
serious risk that the implementation of actions
will become increasingly difi cult and expensive
as decisions are delayed. It will be critical to put a
i gure on costs for action versus inaction and to
evaluate the consequences of political decisions
(Anonymous 2009). The inclusion of ocean acidii -
cation as a risk factor in i shery management
plans, to anticipate a potential threat and act in
time to avoid it, is an example of a concrete recom-
mendation for sectoral economic policies (Cooley
and Doney 2009b ).
Environmental protection policies also have a
part to play. Loss of biodiversity is not only an eco-
logical concern but is also associated with an eco-
nomic value, even if it is difi cult to estimate (but
see Cesar
et al.
2003). In order to preserve biodiver-
sity, detection and protection of areas that have a
naturally higher ability to tackle ocean acidii cation
and thus have the potential to be used as refuges in
the future has been suggested (Ocean Acidii cation
Reference User Group 2009). It has also been rec-
ommended to devote resources and time to i nd
means to improve the ability of the ocean to resist
ocean acidii cation (i.e. to create increased eco-
system resilience) and support conservation
efforts (The Royal Society 2005; Ocean Acidi-
i cation Reference User Group 2009 ).
1.5.3.2 Mitigation and CO
2
emissions policies
The changes in ocean carbonate chemistry generated
by ocean acidii cation are occurring at such a rapid
rate that there is little time to produce the level and
amount of knowledge necessary to provide an unam-
biguous input to policymakers. Policy action is there-
fore required before a comprehensive understanding
is available, and application of the precautionary
principle is advocated by many. Strategies to reduce
anthropogenic CO
2
emissions are the most efi cient
and perhaps the only current option to halt ocean
acidii cation, and the implementation of large-scale
agreements to decrease CO
2
emissions is often the
major recommendation made in policy briefs (e.g.
Anonymous 2009). The failure to reach binding agree-
ment at the international level illustrates the difi cul-
ties of implementing this recommendation. However,
recommendations on emission policies led to the rec-
ognition of CO
2
as a pollutant by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in April 2009.
Potential alternative methods exist to reduce the
impacts of the increasing CO
2
emissions, including
carbon capture and storage (IPCC 2005) and various
geo-engineering techniques (The Royal Society 2009;
see Chapter 14). The Sleipner project launched in
1996 is an example of the former approach. CO
2
from
the natural gas produced at the Statoil-operated gas
i eld 'Sleipner Vest' in the North Sea is injected into
a saline aquifer, located above the Sleipner gas i eld
(IPCC 2005). An example of a geo-engineering tech-
nique has been provided by Crutzen (2006), who
described the injection of sulphur particles into the
stratosphere in order to rel ect incoming solar energy
and thereby decrease the temperature on earth.
However, geo-engineering approaches were pro-
posed to mitigate climate change, not ocean acidii -
cation. In fact, such methods would enable continued
and increasing CO
2
emissions, and would increase
rather than decrease ocean acidii cation.
1.6 Conclusions
Ocean acidii cation is a new i eld of research which
has implications for a very large number of scien-
tii c and socio-economic subdisciplines (Fig. 1.4).
Despite the impressive development of this i eld in
the past few years, both in terms of research initia-
tives and publications, only a few consequences are
known with a high level of coni dence (e.g. chemis-
try), whereas many (e.g. the biological and bio-
geochemical responses, and the impact on
socio-economics) are known with only a moderate
level of coni dence (see Chapter 15). The goal of this
book is to review all aspects of ocean acidii cation
research, summarize the current understanding,
identify gaps, and provide recommendations for
future research and international coordination.
1.5.3.3 Socio-economic and adaptation policies
Reports also highlight the need to evaluate the
costs to society and work on ways to adapt society
