The Climate Correction Project (CCP)

Lowering sea water levels / desalinating sea water and distributing water to all arid areas of the Earth / New green spaces for feeding the world / Planting hundreds of billion trees / Stopping climate change

The global threat

The melting of glaciers and pole caps causes sea levels to rise.
Islands in the Pacific and the Maldives will be inundated completely (alarm at climate conferences).
Sea levels will rise by 10 meters and more as Antarctic ice is melting. All coastal cities must be rebuilt. A great deal of land is lost.

The second global crisis

The continents are drying up. All deserts are growing. The Sahel zone does no longer allow for cultivation. The groundwater level is falling. Wells are drying up.
Water shortage has even reached Central Europe. You can find similar developments everywhere on the Earth (for example, in California). The area used to feed the growing population of the Earth is getting smaller and smaller.

Observation

The two problems are two sides of the same “global warming” coin.
Why are we just standing by?

The solution

The basic idea of the Climate Correction Project (CCP) is to pump out seawater and to stop protecting coasts with embankments. Sea water should be desalinated and be routed to wherever there is a scarcity of water. In this way, huge areas will again be usable for feeding the world and for creating habitats.

Sustainability requirements

• Only solar and wind energy are used for pumping and desalination, i.e. there are no emissions. Advantage: In deserts and desert-like areas there is a great deal of solar radiation so that solar energy is available with a very high degree of efficiency.
• The salt extracted is returned to the oceans in an ecologically correct way.
• With to the planting process, at least one third will be covered with trees. CO₂ is captured from the atmosphere, which mitigates climate change. If trillions of new trees are grown, climate change will be brought to a standstill.

Scientific support

A number of chairs at the Technical University of Munich are already involved in the CCP, including Professor Jörg E.Drewes, Chair of the Engineering Faculty for Construction Geo Environment / The Chair of Urban Water Management Sciences; Prof. Markus Disse, the Chair of Hydrology; Prof. Thomas Hamacher, the Chair for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems.
They calculate the energy demand, the maximum holding capacity of the continents, carbon capture through the trees to be planted or its optimization and much more.

Overall conclusion

The CCP concept is working despite its huge size. Where can we start implementing the concept?

As far as desalination technology is concerned, there is a considerable need for development in order to reduce the requisite energy or solar radiation area by a multiple (factor of 25).
However, we can make a start on the basis of existing technologies.

The effective limit of CCP is where treated water flows back into the oceans = the maximum holding capacity of the continents.

However, the time factor must be taken into account, i.e. pumping / irrigation continue during 365 days or at least for 4,300 hours/year.
The earlier water extraction starts, the better for the global climate.

Current problems also solved by CCP

• Expensive projects offering protection against sea-level rise (e.g. Venice, Rotterdam) are isolated approaches. Yet, at the end of the day, they are doomed to failure. They do not solve the cause of the problem.
• Global warming causes sea water to expand and to intensify the melting effect.
• Migration flows are triggered by the loss of the means of existence in the regions that are drying up.
• Military conflicts will increase if food security is not safeguarded and extensive areas are lost. The CCP is a peace project that is a good fit for the EU as a promoter.

Other strong positive aspects of the CCP

 Forests create their own climate and are per se a stabilizing factor, which mitigates weather extremes. The number of hurricanes will decrease, for example.

• We can start in any number of places at the same time. Every step has a positive impact on the climate.
• The development of the irrigation infrastructure will create jobs for many inhabitants, in particular in underdeveloped countries.
• The global economy would benefit from a sustained strong economic effect.

 A clear indicator

The aim must be to keep sea levels constant. Nowadays, this can be measured precisely. Also the expansion effect can be excluded from global warming. The sea level is an indicator of climate change. But later effects will happen even when the CO2-balance is realized by the higher temperatures causing melting of ice volumes. By the wood the temperatures will be diminished and less ice is melting.

From vision to implementation

The CCP could become humankind’s largest project. CCP even must have this dimension in order to achieve its overall goal. Where shall the funding come from?

• If all the resources for the isolated protection of coastal towns were put into the CCP, a good portion of the funding would be secured.
• Rich Arab countries finance their own green areas.
• After the start-up phase, water could become an economic asset that attracts investors.
• The race to find the most efficient desalination technology promises profitable investments.
• The EU could offer determined and consistent support, thus taking the lead in the CCP.
• Compared to the damage that will result without a CCP, the CCP offers the most cost-effective solution.
• All the reasons that led to Desertec’s failure speak for the CCP.

The goals of Katowice and CCP

• With the implementation of other measures, as laid down in Katowice, the CCP could turn around the climate change, or at least help ensure that the 1.5 degree target can still be achieved.
• Katowice and CCP complement and reinforce each other.

Is there a better solution? Self-imposed restrictions on consumption are not having a strong enough impact, new technologies to reduce CO2 emissions take time to develop and to catch on in a manner that is relevant to the climate.

The economically viable battery for e-mobility and wind energy storage has not even been developed yet.

Let us start with the CCP before it is too late.

For more information see welt-wasser-konferenz.de