UK Government Funds Idiotic Project To Remove CO2 From the Oceans

UK government funds idiotic project to remove CO2 from the oceans

RHODA WILSON

The UK is exploring methods to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the ocean as part of its efforts to address climate change. One notable project is SeaCURE, a pilot scheme that aims to test whether removing CO₂ from seawater and burying it in the ground can be an effective way to fight climate change.

BBC published this as a serious story without without even so much as hinting at the absurdity of it. You may get a laugh out of reading about their claims, especially as the BBC has now published an article warning that the sea around the UK is experiencing a “heatwave.” Aside from the almost comic drama BBC has published to get their message across, it has been totally lost on the BBC that higher temperatures mean lower CO₂ in seawater, which is SeaCURE’s aim.

SeaCURE’s project to remove CO₂ from the ocean is funded by the UK government, which has provided £3 million for the scheme. Other projects, such as its 8.5 million euros project to “combat nutrient pollution in the Mediterranean basin,” are co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme. SeaCURE is also stylised as seacure, Seacure, SeaCure and SEACURE.

The low-carbon seawater project is operating on England’s south coast and is one of 15 pilot projects being backed in the UK to develop technologies that capture and store greenhouse gases. It consists of a pipe that snakes under the stony beach and out into the English Channel, sucking up seawater and bringing it onshore. SeaCURE then processes the seawater to remove the carbon before pumping it back out to sea, where it absorbs more CO₂.

It is claimed that the project will be capable of removing at most 100 metric tonnes of CO₂ per year, which is less than the CO₂ emitted by a commercial plane crossing the Atlantic. However, the project’s backers believe it has the potential to be scaled up significantly. If 1% of the world’s seawater on the ocean’s surface were processed, SeaCURE claims it could remove 14 billion tonnes of CO₂ a year, provided the entire process is powered by renewable energy.

The volume of the world’s oceans is estimated to be between 1.3 to 1.5 billion cubic kilometres. One cubic kilometre is 1,000,000,000,000 or 1 trillion litres. 1% of the oceans’ waters would be between 13 billion and 15 billion litres. We typed in the query “How much water holds 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide” and Brave AI responded:

image - The Expose — So, SeaCURE claims it has built a plant in the UK that can process 68.5 million litres of water per year, and it has ambitions to process 15 billion litres. It’s not clear if 15 billion litres would need to be processed per day or per year to be effective, using their false claims about a climate crisis caused by high levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Going along with the climate alarmist narrative, processing 68.5 million litres removes less than the emissions of a commercial plane crossing the Atlantic. Processing 15 billion litres would remove 219 times more, the equivalent of less than 219 commercial planes crossing the Atlantic. Currently, there are an average of 2,000 to 3,000 commercial transatlantic flights every day.

We don’t know how SeCURE calculates 14 billion tonnes of carbon a year from 1% of the oceans’ water. Using basic calculations and assuming all things being equal, if 15 billion litres of water (1% of the oceans) were processed per day, that would work out to about 21,900 tonnes of carbon “removed” per day and 8 million tonnes per year.

Grandiose estimates aside, you will be forgiven for laughing at the stupidity of SeaCURE’s project; you’re not alone, we had a good chuckle when we read about it. The project is not only stupid in its details; it is also stupid when looking at the bigger picture.

The CO₂ stored in the oceans is part of a complex balancing system of the Earth. Water in seas and oceans is a crucial part of the carbon cycle. Because Earth is a closed system, the amount of carbon on the planet never changes – no new carbon is made, it is recycled. When temperatures increase, CO₂ is released from the oceans. When temperatures decrease, the oceans absorb more CO₂. Warmer temperatures and higher CO₂ are beneficial for life on Earth.

Read more:

The science is in. Climate alarmism can end. Since 1959 increases in atmospheric CO2 is due to sea surface temperature, The Exposé, 4 September 2024

It’s about to get colder and CO₂ levels may drop to dangerously unproductive levels, The Exposé, 17 May 2024

The imaginary “climate crisis” is a product of climate activists and click-bait media, The Exposé, 1 May 2024

Carbon dioxide, nitrogen and climate change are greening the Earth, The Exposé, 11 May 2023

Carbon dioxide is the elixir of life, let’s celebrate it not demonise it, The Exposé, 15 November 2022

The Ocean Carbon Cycle, Harvard Magazine, 29 August 2023

In the video below, Professor Tom Bell of Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Professor Paul Halloran from the University of Exeter introduce the SeaCURE project, which, as the description below the video on YouTube states, is designed to accelerate the ocean’s natural removal of atmospheric carbon.

“The system makes use of the natural behaviour of the carbon cycle, i.e. the ‘sucking’ of CO₂ out of the atmosphere in response to the atmosphere-ocean difference in CO₂ concentration generated by rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations,” the video description says.

Reading the description, we would assume we are about to watch a comedy sketch, but alas, in the video, it appears the two professors are being serious and not trying to be funny at all. They will never live this down.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory: Introduction to SeaCure, 21 October 2024 (4 mins)

.
Aside from the obvious frivolous nature of the project, it seems the UK is attempting to undo what other projects around the world could be considering.

In a summary about CO₂ removal, which “aims to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and store it on land, underground or in the ocean,” NOAA suggests that one of the approaches involves enhancing the natural power of the ocean to sequester and store carbon dioxide. This includes methods like ocean alkalinity enhancement, which changes the chemistry of seawater to encourage greater absorption of CO₂ from the atmosphere. It converts CO₂ to stable carbonate forms, which can reduce ocean acidification.

The method described by NOAA to store CO₂ in ocean water is similar to the method the project the UK government is funding to remove CO₂ from the ocean. SeaCURE adjusts the pH of the water it has drawn out of the ocean “to extract as much carbon from that water as possible and then readjusting [the PH] before releasing [the water] back into the surface ocean where it can then take up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Prof. Bell explained in the video above.

Altering the pH of the water could make the oceans uninhabitable for marine life and there is no guarantee that human manipulation of the pH will be the same as the natural world determines and life requires. In aquatic environments, pH levels can significantly impact the survival and health of organisms. Extreme pH levels can stress animal systems, reduce hatching and survival rates, and increase the solubility of toxic chemicals, posing risks to aquatic life.

How about changing the CO₂concentrations in oceans; what effect will that have on marine life? Fortunately, the UK’s efforts are minuscule and won’t have any effect.

As *Decarbonfuse* notes: “There’s also the question of what a large quantity of low-carbon water would do to the sea and the things that live in it. In Weymouth it dribbles out of a pipe in such small quantities it is unlikely to have any impact.”

The same can be said of the impact on “greenhouse gases” and “climate change.”

Regardless of the wanton abandon on display, the key takeaway is: While NOAA is suggesting storing CO₂ in the ocean, the UK government is attempting to remove it. Perhaps those who are attempting to remove CO₂ from the ocean should simply hook up their pipe to those who are trying to store CO₂ in the ocean; at least that way marine life will not be impacted in any way – except for having to deal with pipes lying on the sea floor which are circulating sea water, at various stages of low and high CO₂, from one pump in the USA to another in the UK.

You will be forgiven for bursting out in giggles again. However, what is not funny is the time and resources wasted on such senseless projects. There is a growing industry that is gaining financially from these idiotic schemes, and it seems it is only the Government and some corporate media, such as the BBC, that are gullible enough to fall for them.

Sources include:

Project to suck carbon out of sea begins in UK, BBC 18 April 2025

Scientists taking carbon out of sea to tackle climate change, CBBC, 18 April 2025

Carbon Dioxide Removal: Mitigating Ocean Acidification, NOAA

Scientists Activate Facility to Suck Carbon Directly Out of the Ocean, Futurism, 19 April 2025

**UK Sea Temperatures Soar**

The BBC published the SeaCURE story last month without so much as questioning what taxpayers’ funds are being spent on or the ludicrousness of the project. But the BBC’s idiocy didn’t stop there. Just over a month later, the BBC reported that temperatures in the seas around the UK and Ireland have soared.

Assuming temperature data hasn’t been manipulated and is correct, higher temperatures mean the seas and oceans release CO₂ into the atmosphere. As SeaCURE monitors whether their project is working, i.e. removing CO₂ from the ocean, are they factoring in that temperature rises will decrease the CO₂ in the ocean? Our guess is they are not and are instead assuming CO₂ has dropped in the ocean because their pathetic little water pump works.

Ignoring that temperature affects the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere and the implications this has for SeaCURE’s wasteful experiments, the BBC took the opportunity to try to scare the public that the temperatures are so high that there are “implications for marine life and people going swimming.” What a load of codswallop! *Not a Lot of People Know That* comments on the BBC article below.

**Today’s Misinformation From The BBC**

By Paul Homewood, 22 May 2025

**Temperatures in the seas around the UK and Ireland have soared in the past week with some areas now 4C warmer than normal, with potential implications for marine life and people going swimming.**

One of warmest Springs on record is driving the surge, as high temperatures and weak winds warm the top layer of the ocean.

Marine heatwaves in the UK are thought to be a relatively new phenomenon but they are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.

UK sea temperatures soar after exceptionally warm spring, BBC, 22 May 2025

I don’t think sea temperatures of 13^oC rank as a “heatwave,” certainly not if you fell into it!

But the misinformation lies in the statement that “One of warmest Springs on record is driving the surge.” What is driving the surge is the record amounts of sunshine seen so far in the spring. It is the sun which warms the seas, not climate change. And it is the same sunshine that has brought a warm spring to the land as well.

And sunny weather also brings light winds, which prevent that warm surface water from mixing with the colder water below.

*Featured image: Seawater is treated and has carbon removed from it before being pumped back out. Source: Project to Suck Carbon Out of Sea Begins in UK, Decarbonfuse, 18 April 2025*

This article (The Spectator launches SPAFF to expose the waste and abuse of UK public funds) was created and published by The Expose and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Rhoda Wilson

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.