Hugging the Shore: Tackling Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal as a Local Governance Problem

Abstract

This Perspective explores the local governance of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Proposals to enhance the ability of oceans and marine ecosystems to absorb atmospheric CO2 are often discussed as examples of “geoengineering,” but this framing obscures the site-specific nature of most of the suggested interventions. The Perspective outlines some of the key local dimensions of marine CDR as currently imagined, and suggests a framework for increasing local participation in its assessment. Robust processes of local participation are essential to address the place-based conflicts that are bound to emerge if any of the proposed methods of CO2 removal is ever deployed at scale.