What will we say to our grandchildren, as we dither over the solution to arrest climate change that lays before our eyes?

If temperatures are allowed to rise past 1.5ºC, island countries like ours will be in grave danger, with some facing the grim prospect of being wiped off the map by rising seas. The climate impacts will affect millions of people around the world, in both developed and developing nations.

We also now know that it is already too late to keep warming to 1.5ºC by reducing global emissions alone. If we hope to meet the 1.5-degree target and save our countries from devastating impacts, we must find ways to actively remove from the air a large amount of carbon dioxide that has already been emitted.

There are a number of ideas that involve human-engineered technology. These are still in the early stages of development, and we need to continue to explore their ultimate potential. But there is a way to remove carbon from the atmosphere right now. It is to use what are called “natural” or “nature-based” climate solutions.