Enabling responsible and transparent evaluation of marine carbon dioxide removal techniques

Enabling responsible and transparent evaluation of marine carbon dioxide removal techniques

In this final article of the SEAO2-CDR series, Prof. Christopher R. Pearce and Prof. Pedro Linares review progress in marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) assessment processes, including the tools, mechanisms and guidelines currently available to help facilitate robust and informed decision-making. Growing interest in the potential for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) techniques to support climate mitigation strategies (if implemented alongside ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets) requires advances in our ability to make informed decisions about whether, where, when, and how to deploy such techniques (1, 2). Such considerations require a better understanding of the efficacy, co-benefits, and risks of mCDR methods, as well as the development of appropriate monitoring mechanisms and regulatory pathways, and improved characterisation of public perceptions of the techniques (2, 3).