OCEAN-BASED 

CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL

SURVEY

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is becoming increasingly understood as an imperative for slowing dangerous climate change.  The world needs to extract and permanently sequester 100s to 1000s of gigatons of carbon dioxide over the coming decades to avoid the worst effects of climate disruption, and perhaps reverse some of the damage already inflicted. The scale of the efforts needed comes with significant technological, political, economic and social challenges.

To date, most of the thinking and development of CDR approaches and technologies have been terrestrially focused. However, the Ocean holds enormous potential for CDR solutions at the needed scale given their sheer size and their biological productivity.  

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Yet, ocean-based CDR remains poorly understood and under-invested.  There are an emerging number of scientific efforts to evaluate different ocean-based CDR pathways, their technical feasibility, costs and environmental implications, and there are a growing number of early stage inventors and practitioners who are pushing the technical envelopes of ocean-based CDR technologies. But there is no supportive policy framework for field testing and commercial scaling; awareness of the potential contributions of ocean-based CDR is nascent; social and political license for ocean-based approaches is uncertain; and philanthropic and private sector engagement remains small.

To address and overcome some of the roadblocks to accelerating development of ocean-based CDR, Ocean Visions will convene relevant experts and interested parties in development of road maps to identify the needed steps to accelerate development and deployment of the most viable ocean-based CDR approaches.

FOCUS

Given the current state of research and development, efforts will focus on three ocean-based CDR approaches that have emerged as ‘frontrunners’ based on apparent technological feasibility and potential for scalability. These approaches include: (1) ocean alkalinity enhancement, (2) macroalgal cultivation, and (3) electrochemical removal of carbon dioxide from seawater. As work progresses, we may include other approaches as well.    

The roadmaps are intended to be living documents that are continually updated and refined as advances in science, technology, governance, and policy emerge. The exact form(s) of these roadmaps will be determined in the initial phase of the project in consultation with experts and potential end-users.   

The road mapping process itself will be designed to engage experts and practitioners worldwide and to allow for iteration and improvement and tailoring to specific geographies, sectors, and scales. The process will also be built to allow for broad participation, self-selection into subgroups, and to facilitate a global crowd-sourcing approach to iterating and building out the roadmaps. A key deliverable will be initial design of an ongoing structure that supports and accelerates collaboration and action around ocean-based CDR.   

Given the current state of research and development, efforts will focus on three ocean-based CDR approaches that have emerged as ‘frontrunners’ based on apparent technological feasibility and potential for scalability. These approaches include: (1) ocean alkalinity enhancement, (2) macroalgal cultivation, and (3) electrochemical removal of carbon dioxide from seawater. As work progresses, we may include other approaches as well.    

The roadmaps are intended to be living documents that are continually updated and refined as advances in science, technology, governance, and policy emerge. The exact form(s) of these roadmaps will be determined in the initial phase of the project in consultation with experts and potential end-users.   

The road mapping process itself will be designed to engage experts and practitioners worldwide and to allow for iteration and improvement and tailoring to specific geographies, sectors, and scales. The process will also be built to allow for broad participation, self-selection into subgroups, and to facilitate a global crowd-sourcing approach to iterating and building out the roadmaps. A key deliverable will be initial design of an ongoing structure that supports and accelerates collaboration and action around ocean-based CDR.