10 - Natural Climate Solutions

Summary

This initial chapter in the carbon removal section focuses on several of the more tangential possible solutions, each of which may form a wedge in a portfolio of carbon removal solutions but will by no means constitute the primary intervention. After touching upon the Gaia hypothesis, we move to everyone’s favorite climate solution – trees. Though afforestation/reforestation appear superficially attractive and cheap, they are merely a fragile and temporary bank of carbon with a storage capacity that is woefully subscale for our problem. Bio energy with carbon capture and sequestration would ameliorate the land saturation problem that limits the capacity of forests, but is also far less green than it appears and confronts similar scaling constraints. Regenerative agriculture, blue carbon, biochar, and other soil carbon enhancement techniques are further wedges in the portfolio, but each with substantial scaling limitations. Enhanced chemical weathering faces cost problems, and ocean iron fertilization is more nearly pollution than a climate solution. While some of these techniques will prove relevant, none promises climate salvation.