- 1National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, UK (c.r.pearce@noc.ac.uk)
- *A full list of author appears at the end of the abstract
Enabling the transition towards a climate neutral and climate resilient society requires both a rapid and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the implementation of a portfolio of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches [1]. Marine (m)CDR methods may play a significant role in helping to achieve ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets as the potential scale of atmospheric CO2 removal that could be achieved, coupled with the ability of some approaches to help mitigate climate change impacts such as ocean acidification and ecosystem degradation, may offer advantages over land-based approaches [e.g. 2]. However, informed decision making on if, where and when such techniques could be deployed requires an enhanced understanding of the efficacy, durability, scalability and co-benefits/risks of mCDR methods, as well as the development of appropriate monitoring mechanisms and regulatory pathways and the identification of approaches that are supported by, and beneficial to, local communities [3,4].
The Strategies for the Evaluation and Assessment Of Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal (SEAO2-CDR) project is currently addressing these knowledge gaps by developing multidisciplinary assessment and evaluation processes and frameworks that will help guide and inform the implementation potential of mCDR approaches. Key outcomes from the project will include characterisation of the system boundaries, processes and energy flows of different techniques in addition to determination of their temporal and spatial monitoring, reporting and verification requirements and mechanisms. It will also develop social, regulatory, political, economic and ethical frameworks required to help facilitate and support mCDR uptake at scale, and will provide an understanding of realistic implementation policies and pathways via an integrated assessment of system-level effects. Here we will summarise the project’s key findings, state of progress and future priorities, and will review what additional research is needed to help facilitate the environmentally safe, socially acceptable, and economically viable implementation of appropriate mCDR approaches.
[1] Smith et al. (eds.) (2024). The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal 2024 (2nd Edition). https://www.stateofcdr.org
[2] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021). A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26278
[3] Ocean Visions (2023). A Comprehensive Program to Prove or Disprove Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies by 2030. https://oceanvisions.org
[4] Aspen Institute (2023) A Code of Conduct for Marne Carbon Dioxide Removal Research. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/a-code-of-conduct-for-marine-carbon-dioxide-removal-research/
Sandy Avrutin; Jan Bazyli Klakla; Mona Delval; Willem van Dorp; Shaun Fitzgerald; Patricia Grasse; Donato Greco; Lisa De Grunt; Patrick Henriksson; Lisa Herlicka; Paul Holtus; Ginevra Le Moli; Pedro Linares; Socratis Loucaides; Raffaele Marchetti; Manfredi Marciante; Izabela Marcinkowska; Frank Meisel; Silvia Menegazzi; Christine Merk; Andreas Oschlies; Gianfranco Pellegrino; Pietro Pustorino; David Reiner; Phil Renforth; Wilfried Rickels; Nicolas Ruitenbeek; Jill Storey; John Taylor; Nils Thonemann; Pablo Trucco Pignata; Jorge Vinuales; Rüdiger Voss; Callum Ward; Andrea Wunsch and Karolina Zubel
How to cite: Pearce, C. and the SEAO2-CDR consortia: Strategies for the evaluation and assessment of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-346, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-346, 2025.
