Isn’t it better that we sacrifice the oceans and let them keep on taking up CO2 and buffering climate?
Ocean acidification and climate change are two sides of the same coin. Both are direct consequences of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and cannot be separated from each other. The present uptake of about one quarter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by the ocean indeed serves as a buffer against rising atmospheric CO2, and so this “service” could be considered to diminish, but not prevent, climate change. In the long term, on time scales of tens of thousands of years, the majority of anthropogenic CO2 emissions (80-90%) will end up in the ocean. This, however, will not protect the climate system from global warming during the intervening period. It is also important to point out that the impacts of CO2 uptake by the oceans will have profound effects on the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems. The oceans provide vital roles in biogeochemical cycles—not only in the regulation of CO2, but in the production of oxygen, the cycling of nitrogen and other important nutrients, as well as the productio
