Policy Brief: Governing Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), large-scale Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is now required in all pathways to keep global warming under 1.5°C. With more than two thirds of Earth covered by water, many potential CDR techniques might be considered for deployment in the marine environment in the future.

Marine CDR techniques are for the most part theoretical, but if ever deployed, some could create large and potentially long-term risks and governance challenges. We do not yet know enough about the risks, costs and potential benefits, or governance requirements, to understand if marine CDR techniques could be viable, or – if so – whether, when or how to deploy them at scale.