POLICY BRIEF
Navigating Hopes and Threats: How Precaution Should Guide Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Research and Governance
Today, the Ocean & Climate Platform releases its new Policy Brief on marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR), built on its latest scientific publications and reflecting a commitment to a precautionary approach to mCDR, grounded in scientific integrity, environmental protection, and social equity. The brief elaborates a set of recommendations for decision-makers to enable safe and equitable research while preventing any premature deployment.
The world is not on track to meet the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. As the urgency to address climate change intensifies, interest in technologies designed to enhance the ocean’s ability to sequester and store carbon dioxide – known as marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) – is surging. Yet, these approaches remain shrouded in uncertainty, particularly regarding their efficacy and potential negative impacts on nature and people.
To help navigate this complex and emerging issue, the Ocean & Climate Platform publishes the policy brief “Navigating Hopes and Threats: How Precaution Should Guide Marine Carbon Dioxide Research and Governance” – developed over more than six months of collaborative work with its members and Scientific Committee. The central message is clear: at present, mCDR remains unproven as a scalable solution to mitigate climate change. The priority must remain the urgent and drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Relying on the promise of mCDR as a “technical fix” could create a moral hazard, undermining decarbonisation efforts by drawing political attention and financial resources away from proven, ready-to-implement solutions.
Click on the cover to discover the policy brief!
Considering that scientific research may nevertheless be warranted to better understand the potential and risks of these techniques, the brief outlines concrete recommendations on how to ensure that research is conducted safely and equitably, without leading to premature deployment. It notably explores how to strengthen the governance framework of mCDR, which is currently fragmented and inadequate, and ensure international commitments are translated in national legislation to ensure the necessary safeguards.
The policy brief reminds us that, although the urgency of the climate crisis is undeniable, slow progress on emissions reductions cannot justify actions that risk undermining ecological integrity or to lower environmental standards. On the contrary, it is when the stakes are highest that safeguards must be strongest.
The ocean has long stood as one of humanity’s greatest allies in the fight against climate change – quietly absorbing carbon and heat, while regulating the planet’s temperature. Emissions reductions remain the most certain path to preserving this role, securing a stable climate for future generations and protecting the biodiversity and life-support it sustains.