Building a Shared Strategy to Advance mCDR Pathways to Climate-Relevant Solutions

Collaborative effort aims to evaluate progress on mCDR RD&D and build a shared strategy to answer the outstanding questions

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is crucial to meeting international climate agreements and ensuring a safe climate. In the past five years, there has been significant growth in awareness and engagement with CDR, particularly marine CDR (mCDR). As a result, more players from academia, start-ups, government, and other sectors are entering the mCDR field. These researchers and practitioners are advancing vital work in areas such as fundamental research, policy, financial mechanisms, governance, and technology development. However, there is no unified agenda or set of aligned objectives, making it impossible to project what the current and planned activities will ultimately achieve. Together with partners, we are initiating a process to develop a shared strategy that coordinates synergistic efforts across the mCDR community. This effort will be guided by the following proposed, working goal, which will be subject to refinement throughout the process:

Working Goal: By 2030, the mCDR community will have developed a sufficient foundation of evidence for society and governments to make decisions about deployment of particular mCDR pathways at scale

This effort will begin with a comprehensive landscape scan and gap analysis of current and planned mCDR activities. The landscape scan will outline the objectives of these activities, their expected outcomes, and how they align within the mCDR community. A gap analysis will follow to identify the critical needs to achieve the 2030 goal (revising the goal if warranted). These needs will guide our work to build an aligned vision and identify clear objectives and actions needed to meet the goal. This collaborative process will seek to improve alignment and identify where new or collective actions are required to fill the gaps. The outcome of this initiative will be a shared vision, goal, and objectives, and detailed strategy for how to achieve our common agenda.

This is a project of Ocean Visions in collaboration with the Carbon Technology Research Foundation (CTRF) and other partners. CTRF is a non-profit philanthropic entity with a mission to invest in the power of technology to supercharge natural systems and catalyze further funding, research, and solutions.

Goal

Build an aligned, collective strategy that puts the mCDR community on an accelerated trajectory to prove or
disprove mCDR technologies by 2030.

Approach

Research: Compile data on all mCDR activities; identify common objectives among the mCDR community; analyze what the existing and planned activities within the mCDR landscape will achieve; and identify the gaps to reaching the 2030 goal to prove or disprove mCDR technologies.
Engagement: The effort will engage with knowledgeable stakeholders, including researchers, scientists, investors, philanthropic donors, civil society representatives, decision-makers, community members, and regulatory agencies to evaluate opportunities, issues, and challenges related to proving or disproving mCDR methods.
Inclusion: There will be multiple opportunities provided in different venues and formats (e.g., online, in-person, workshops) to gather facts, perspectives, and feedback from experts representing multiple sectors and backgrounds, and also detractors of mCDR technologies to better understand and seek to address the concerns of this group.

Process

Scanning the mCDR landscape, analyzing gaps, and establishing a common vision, goals, and objectives will be fundamental to helping us establish an aligned, collective mCDR strategy. This effort presents an opportunity for the mCDR community to ensure we are on a trajectory to answer fundamental questions by 2030 about the additionality and durability of carbon sequestered using mCDR approaches, and the environmental and social impacts. Supported by the Meridian Institute, this process will evaluate the state and trajectory of mCDR RD&D and make recommendations for how to build an aligned strategic agenda through:

Advisory Group. Representatives from a broad range of stakeholder groups will provide key input and strategic advice on organizations to engage, revision of knowledge products, process direction, and recommendations for alignment among the mCDR community.
Desktop Research. Review reports, articles, and other relevant materials to begin drafting the current state of play of activities within mCDR across key thematic areas (e.g., governance, field work), the trajectory of these activities, and objectives for the future of mCDR.
Interviews. Conduct non-attributable interviews that focus on deepening understanding of current mCDR activities, stakeholder objectives and visions for mCDR, and where there are gaps or challenges in accomplishing mCDR goals.
Virtual Sessions. Provide virtual forums for mCDR community members to provide feedback on the initial findings in the landscape scan and gap analysis and begin sharing visions, goals, and objectives to see where there are opportunities for strategic collaboration.
Workshops. Convene an in-person workshop during the Ocean Visions 2025 Biennial Summit to hold sessions with others not previously engaged in the process, to gather broad feedback on the information collected, and identify the next steps for developing or implementing an aligned, strategic agenda.

Contact

For more information, please contact

Ruth Driscoll-Lovejoy

You can immediately contribute to the Collective Strategy Project by sharing relevant resources and your perspectives in the mCDR Collective Strategy Project Information Intake Form.