Podcast: Walkacke for the climate and make money with it?

Salt the female humpback whale is a climate saver without knowing it.

The almost 50-year-old animal swims several thousand kilometers a year and uses its excrement to fertilize the plankton in the sea, which binds CO₂.

Salt also stores carbon dioxide in its body.

Once she dies, it will sink to the seabed with her.

Enlarge image

Salt, the humpback whale lady: She gets her name because of her fin, which resembles a crust of salt

Photo: OceanPhoto / imago images

The fact that whales like Salt make a contribution to the climate gave the financial economist Ralph Chami an idea: Why don't we translate the performance of whales like Salt into the financial system?

He calculated that a 60-year-old whale was worth $2 million.

Author Adrienne Buller criticizes this and says this approach is a gateway for green washing.

Can we protect whales and thus the climate with capitalism?

Is this monetary value just a symbol or does this calculation really help with whale protection?

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