Recent science has revealed that the natural, biological processes of whales can help to trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce climate change. These processes are commonly referred to as “whale carbon” and they can take a number of forms. 

Whales eat a lot and they excrete enormous quantities of nutrients that help phytoplankton grow. When whales swim from ocean depths to the surface, they also increase nutrient availability for phytoplankton. Like plants on land, phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide. More phytoplankton means more carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere.

Whales are also big and long-lived. This means they store a lot of carbon in their bodies for long periods of time. When they die and sink to the ocean floor, they bring all of that trapped carbon with them where it can remain buried for millennia. 

Much work remains to measure the value of whale carbon and harnessing it for climate change action. However, the majority of countries that have endorsed the IWC resolutions clearly indicate that there is great potential interest in the roles that whales and other marine life can play in combating climate change. And this is good progress.

Resolution on Advancing the Commission’s Work on the Role of Cetaceans in the Ecosystem Functioning – This resolution commends the IWC’s “Scientific and Conservation Committee for their efforts to increase understanding of the contribution of cetaceans to ecosystem functioning.” This is a reference to a resolution endorsed by 36 nations and passed at the 66th meeting of the IWC in 2016, which asked the IWC’s Scientific Committee to research how whale conservation may help mitigate climate change. The current resolution also encourages the IWC to seek synergies and collaborations on this issue. It further encourages member states “to integrate the value of cetaceans’ ecological roles into local, regional, and global organisations on biodiversity and environment, including climate change.”

The Florianópolis Declaration– This resolution focused on the role of the IWC in the conservation and management of whales in the 21st century. Relevant to whales and climate change, the resolution recognizes that the role of the IWC has evolved to include “the maintenance of healthy cetacean populations to fulfil the vital ecological and carbon cycling roles these animals play in the global marine ecosystem functioning.”

*Heidi Pearson was a Fulbright Scholar working at GRID-Arendal in 2018.