Friends of the Earth Slams Ocean Dumping Scheme Disguised as “Climate Solution”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friends of the Earth (FOE), joined by Biofuelwatch, has formally submitted a public comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing an experiment that would dump up to 20 metric tons – tens cars’ worth – of agricultural waste from sugarcane manufacturers into the Orca Basin, a deep, hypersaline, oxygen-free region in the Gulf of Mexico that is home to rare microbial lifeforms and has played an important role in Gulf Coast science for decades. FOE also submitted a petition opposing the project signed by 11,731 activists from across the country.
“The ocean is not a waste bin for corporations trying to cash in on climate change,” said Benjamin Day, Senior Campaigner for Climate and Energy Justice at Friends of the Earth. “Carboniferous is trying to turn a uniquely sensitive, poorly understood deep-sea ecosystem into a private carbon dump. That’s not science – that’s geoengineering, and it’s dangerous.”
Carboniferous has applied for a federal permit under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act to permanently sink the dried biomass. The project claims to be a scientific experiment exploring whether carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere by sinking carbon, in the form of agricultural waste, to the floor of the deep sea. However, the proposed experiment would not collect any direct samples from the 20 tons of biomass, and the waste would be permanently abandoned on the seafloor with no backup plan for retrieval if something goes wrong.
Friends of the Earth has called on the EPA to hold a formal public hearing on the proposed experiment and reject the permit.
Carboniferous, the for-profit company behind the experiment, also has a significant financial conflict-of-interest in the project, since their business model relies on eventually being able to sell “carbon credits” for dumping even larger quantities of agricultural waste into the ocean.
Friends of the Earth’s legal and scientific analysis found Carboniferous’ application to be riddled with red flags: there are no testable hypotheses in the proposed “scientific” experiment, no plan to directly measure carbon sequestration, no strategy for long-term monitoring, and no provisions for cleanup if something goes wrong. The analysis also highlights the serious risk of microbial contamination, methane release, and disruption of future scientific research in the area.
FOE also noted that starting last year the EPA illegally expanded the country’s ocean dumping laws to include marine geoengineering activities, which they did unilaterally without any public or expert consultation, in violation of multiple federal laws.
“The EPA must pump the brakes on all permit applications for marine carbon dioxide removal. These removals are out of line with the country’s restrictive ocean dumping laws and are not authorized by Congress,” said Day. “We need real solutions to the climate crisis – not speculative, profit-driven schemes that treat the ocean as a dumping ground.”
Communications contact: Benjamin Day, [email protected]