Algae for global sustainability?

Our world has always been transforming, but even more so today with almost 7.8 billion people living on Earth. Since the beginning of the century, the world population has increased by 27%. Since 2000, Africa has shown the most significant inhabitant number increase with a positive growth rate of 65% compared to Oceania (36%) Latin America and the Caribbean (25%), Asia (24%), North America (18%) and Europe (3%) (United Nations, 2020a). Considering that our blue planet has a finite space, the role of humanity is to understand its ecosystem in order to anticipate the impact of this increase of human beings on the flora, the fauna and on the environment and in order to limit the imbalance of the ecosystem, and risk the extinction of certain species and the loss of biodiversity. In this context, in 2015, 193 countries, which are members of the United Nations Organization, adopted a universal program of sustainable development for the 2030 horizon, called the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” It is focused on population numbers, the planet prosperity and on peace thanks to its partnerships. Seventeen sustainable development goals were defined. Algae (macro and microalgae) have the potential to respond to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. In this chapter, the sustainable development goals will be approached by proposing solutions based on algae and on key players who utilize them in a healthy functioning of the global ecosystem. We propose a vision of a responsible seaweed industry, playing a globally significant role in food security, climate change mitigation, and supporting the marine ecosystem, as well as contributing to job-creation and economic growth. This chapter is a follow up of volume 71 sea plants and volume 95 seaweeds around the world: State of art and perspectives.