WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a group of international ocean policy and conservation experts from nine organizations based in North America and Europe released new recommendations for ocean carbon dioxide removal (OCDR) research: Precautionary Principles for Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research. To limit warming to 1.5C and successfully achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, we need to make drastic cuts to global greenhouse gas emissions. The longer we take, the more we’ll need carbon dioxide removal methods and calls for OCDR research are growing louder.

No OCDR methods are ready to be deployed yet at scales that could alter the climate. The authors identified some key principles and actions for how OCDR research should progress to ensure that OCDR research can benefit the climate without harming the ocean and people:

• Community engagement is essential.
• Transparency is fundamental.
• Carbon removal must be verified.
• An enforceable research code of conduct must be adopted.
• Multidisciplinary research is required.
• Rigorous, standardized monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures must be established.

The ocean’s role in climate solutions will be a popular topic over the next two weeks as SBSTA 58, the Bonn Climate Change Conference, and the U.S. Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) proceed. As pressures on the ocean multiply, it’s more important than ever that climate solutions do not harm the ocean or people who rely on it.

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