Could Superpowered Plants Be the Heroes of the Climate Crisis?
In the midst of a bustling business park in Hayward, California, a revolutionary endeavor is taking root. Living Carbon, a climate biotech firm, has embarked on a mission to engineer hybrid poplar saplings capable of efficiently absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). These genetically modified "mother trees" serve as pioneers in the fight against climate change. Clones of their leading lines have been planted in pilot projects in Georgia and Ohio to measure their carbon sequestration potential. These projects aim to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and, in turn, compensate landowners through the sale of carbon removal credits.
The endeavor spearheaded by Living Carbon is at the forefront of a novel approach to combating global CO2 emissions—enhancing photosynthesis in plants. By making plants more proficient at photosynthesis, particularly in terms of CO2 uptake, the project holds the potential to supercharge the carbon-capturing ability of trees, such as those genetically engineered by Living Carbon.
Enhancing photosynthesis in plants, particularly trees, by addressing inherent inefficiencies is a key aspect of Living Carbon's strategy. Through its unique approach, the company manages to redirect CO2 into tree growth. Initial greenhouse trials have yielded promising results, showing an increase in biomass and CO2 removal efficiency. The company aims to plant millions of trees, with a focus on land unsuitable for other agriculture, thus transforming degraded areas into carbon-absorbing forests.
On a larger scale, if the approach were to be extended, it could play a significant role in offsetting global CO2 emissions. The methodology can harness the vast potential of reforestation and, if expanded, could sequester a substantial portion of current emissions.
In contrast, enhancing the carbon-sequestering capabilities of agricultural crops involves different strategies. Crops are shorter-lived and harvested seasonally, which necessitates methods to store more carbon underground for extended periods. The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and the Innovative Genomics Institute in Berkeley are two prominent organizations working on this technology. They are engineering crops like soya beans, rice, and wheat to grow larger roots, penetrate deeper into the soil, and produce more suberin, a carbon-rich polymer that is difficult for microbes to decompose.
This initiative seeks to stabilize around 30% of the carbon fixed from the air in the soil, increasing the carbon sequestration capacity of these crops. The aim is to have these plants cover approximately 70% of their current cultivation area.
Several organizations, including a UK-based startup called Wild Bio, are pursuing similar goals. Recent regulatory changes have eased the path for gene-edited crops, facilitating advancements in this field.
However, concerns remain. Real-world success and the ability to scale up the technology are significant challenges. The environmental variables that affect plant growth, such as temperature, water availability, and nutrients, can lead to variability in results. Moreover, trees exposed to warmer conditions may grow faster, but that could come at the cost of a shorter lifespan.
For some, focusing on more established methods for reducing emissions, like increasing the number of trees and adopting low-till agriculture, is preferable to experimenting with gene modification technology. Campaign groups argue that the long-term consequences of genetically altering plants remain uncertain and that the proven techniques should be the priority.
But proponents of superpowered plants contend that the world is not moving swiftly enough to combat emissions and that new approaches are needed. Even if emissions were reduced to zero overnight, carbon removal would remain necessary. They argue that rejecting genetic modification technology based on unsubstantiated concerns could hinder progress when the world is in the midst of a climate emergency.
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