Can coastal and marine carbon dioxide removal help to close the emissions gap? Scientific, legal, economic, and governance considerations

 

There is an urgent need to establish governance frameworks around marine carbon dioxide removal activities (mCDR) to ensure the safe and timely delivery of any potential climate mitigation benefit. In scenarios where we compare the potential for marine and coastal climate mitigation with projections of excess emissions, we find mCDR may be able to contribute significantly in the latter half of the 21st century but the potential is highly uncertain and the risk of adverse consequences, or failure, is high. Economic frameworks and international legislation are not fit for purpose to incentivise or regulate mCDR, although commercial operations by climate-tech startups are already beginning. Governance structures should include all stakeholders in the process.

This paper is collected in the SOLAS Special Feature "Boundary Shift: The Air-Sea Interface in a Changing Climate".

Reference: Johnson, M., van Doorn, E., Hilmi, N., et al. (2024). Can coastal and marine carbon dioxide removal help to close the emissions gap? Scientific, legal, economic, and governance considerations. Elem. Sci. Anth., 12(1), 00071. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00071