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

Summary/Abstract

This paper 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 paper outlines some of the key local dimensions of marine CDR as currently imagined, and suggests a framework for increasing local participation in its assessment. The paper argues that a robust processes of local participation is 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.