Attributing ocean acidification to major carbon producers

R Licker,S C Doney,B Ekwurzel,I D Lima,R Heede,S R Cooley,P C Frumhoff

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab5abc

Abstract

Recent research has quantified the contributions of CO2 and CH4 emissions traced to the products of major fossil fuel companies and cement manufacturers to global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level rise. This work has informed societal considerations of the climate responsibilities of these major industrial carbon producers. Here, we extend this work to historical (1880–2015) and recent (1965–2015) acidification of the world’s ocean. Using an energy balance carbon-cycle model, we find that emissions traced to the 88 largest industrial carbon producers from 1880–2015 and 1965–2015 have contributed ∼55% and ∼51%, respectively, of the historical 1880–2015 decline in surface ocean pH. As ocean acidification is not spatially uniform, we employ a three-dimensional ocean model and identify five marine regions with large declines in surface water pH and aragonite saturation state over similar historical (average 1850–1859 to average 2000–2009) and recent (average 1960–1969 to average of 2000–2009) time periods. We characterize the biological and socioeconomic systems in these regions facing loss and damage from ocean acidification in the context of climate change and other stressors. Such analysis can inform societal consideration of carbon producer responsibility for current and near-term risks of further loss and damage to human communities dependent on marine ecosystems and fisheries vulnerable to ocean acidification.

Highlights

The question of responsibility for climate change is central to the consideration of societal obligations to address the problem
Using an energy balance carbon-cycle model, we find that emissions traced to the 88 largest industrial carbon producers from 1880–2015 and 1965–2015 have contributed ∼55% and ∼51%, respectively, of the historical 1880–2015 decline in surface ocean pH
Global ocean pH We examined the changes in global ocean surface pH attributable to emissions traced to the 88 largest carbon producers with an energy-balance carbon cycle model approach over historical (1880–2015) and more recent (1965–2015) time periods

Summary

Introduction

The question of responsibility for climate change is central to the consideration of societal obligations to address the problem. Sub-national governments, corporations, utilities, and individuals often see themselves, and are viewed by others, as having obligations to address climate change. Societal perceptions that fossil fuel companies bear distinctive climate responsibilities are reflected in the emergence of divestment campaigns (Stephens et al 2018), shareholder resolutions seeking alignment of company practices with the Paris Agreement (Fugere and Behar 2018, Millar et al 2018), and litigation. In 2017 and 2018, for example, more than a dozen US cities and counties and the state of Rhode Island filed suit against several investor-owned fossil fuel companies seeking to hold them liable for their contributions to the harms from sea level rise and increasingly extreme weather that climate change is imposing on local communities (Hasemyer 2018). In 2018, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association filed suit against fossil fuel companies for harms from the ocean warming linked with a buildup of domoic acid in Dungeness crabs at levels toxic for human consumption (Bond et al 2015, Zhu et al 2017, Hulac 2018)

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