One year after the launch of the "Desarc-Maresanus" research project run by Politecnico di Milano and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change with the support of Amundi and the collaboration of CO2APPS, the main results are ready to be presented.
"Desarc-Maresanus" studied an alkalinization process to simultaneously address two environmental problems of enormous concern: the increase of the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and the resulting acidification of the oceans. The process involves spreading calcium hydroxide on the surface of the sea, which would increase the seawater's capacity to provide a buffer to the acidity, halting the dangerous decrease of pH. This, in turn, can foster an additional removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, generating negative emissions. More specifically, a detailed analysis was done of the technical and economic feasibility of this process, its environmental balance, and the benefits for the marine sector, focussing on the Mediterranean basin.
The main points addressed by the Desarc-Maresanus research project are the following:
According to Prof. Stefano Caserini, Professor of Mitigation of Climate Change at Politecnico di Milano and Project Leader for the research: "The results attained are very interesting and are another step forward, making us confident that it is possible to remove CO2 from the atmosphere at prices that are not prohibitive, while also providing an answer to the great problem of acidification of the sea. More research is required, on both the technological process and interactions with the environment, but these initial results are promising. We know that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and drastically, and with this project we have begun to work on doing even more".
Prof. Mario Grosso, Scientific Coordinator of the Research for Politecnico di Milano, added: "The time has come to propose something really ambitious to combat climate change and the acidification of the oceans. The encouraging results of this project come at the most favourable time, precisely when we are entering the decisive decade for dealing with these epochal challenges, and when the European Union is also proposing strong, concrete mitigating strategies".
Dr. Simona Masina, Director of the Ocean Modelling Division at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change Foundation, stated: "As has been pointed out in the latest IPCC reports as well, simply reducing CO2 emissions will not suffice for combating the climate crisis on our planet. The modeling studies done in Desarc-Maresanus research project indicate how an adequately sized alkalinization process could contribute to simultaneously mitigating the two main problems caused by high anthropogenic CO2 emissions: global warming and acidification of the ocean".
Paolo Proli, Head of Retail Distribution di Amundi SGR, concluded: "Once again in 2020 we have renewed our economic support to the Desarc-Maresanus research project, because attention to the questions of sustainability and combating climate change is one of Amundi's long-term commitments, that cannot stop at a single initiative, but permeates deeply into our Company - from investment, to voting policies at shareholders meetings, and initiatives in favor of the environment, with a social impact".
Project website: http://www.desarc-maresanus.net
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