Local stakeholders can (and should?) play an active role in place-based deployment of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE).

Introduction

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a marine-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approach, which expedites the natural uptake of CO₂ by the ocean. Due to the key role that CDR now plays in international climate policy, and the ocean’s high CO₂ storage potential, researchers and the private sector are increasingly interested in developing OAE technologies. While there is a growing body of research regarding public perceptions of CDR, research focusing explicitly on OAE is limited, particularly in southern-hemisphere countries. We extend the framing of responsible innovation to understand the roles stakeholders can play in OAE deployment. To do so, we engaged a range of stakeholders to capture their views on the roles they could play in OAE deployment. Identifying the role of stakeholders is important to promote knowledge and resource sharing, build partnerships and enable interested stakeholders to exercise their agency in fostering responsible innovation.

Methods

We conducted a case study on the island state of Tasmania, Australia. We focused on Tasmania primarily due to the prevalence of OAE and other marine CDR (mCDR) research in this state.  In an exploratory study, we interviewed 23 stakeholders using a qualitative approach of inquiry. We adopted a bottom-up mode of engagement, rather than prescriptive, and enquired what role participants assumed they could play in OAE deployment in the state. We recruited participants from the following stakeholder categories: environmental groups, researchers, government agencies, fisheries, tourism, and recreational ocean users.

Findings

Most participants saw value in pursuing OAE to tackle climate change, despite identifying some knowledge gaps to develop an informed understanding of the technology. Participants saw themselves playing active rather than passive roles in OAE deployment. These roles generally depicted stakeholders’ agency not only in working together with decision-makers but also contributing to shaping OAE outcomes. The identified roles were distributed across domains of techno-scientific innovation, procedural fairness, and local governance. For example, fisheries and tourism operators saw their contribution in collecting data for monitoring the effects of OAE. Environmental groups were keen on facilitating community engagement, and partnerships between science and practice. Government representatives foresaw a role in land-use and marine spatial planning, permitting and monitoring.

Conclusion

We found that most stakeholders wish to play an active role in the deployment of OAE, indicating a desire for agency in the implementation and upscaling of these technologies. Early conversation between stakeholders, innovators and policymakers will be essential to understand stakeholders’ interest and capacity, and how their involvement in OAE might be best enabled.