Carbon180, the Carbon Business Council, and Ocean Conservancy have launched a new marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) forum, providing a platform where stakeholders can engage in talks around this emerging decarbonization field.
As shared by the creators, the forum is intended to serve as a space where academia, mCDR suppliers and buyers, environmental and climate NGOs, philanthropists, coastal and Indigenous communities, and local, state, federal, international, and tribal governments can come together to exchange perspectives in shared conversations on the many aspects of ocean-based CO2 removal approaches.
Oceans play a vital role in the natural carbon cycle, absorbing vast amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. mCDR refers to novel technologies focused on enhancing the carbon absorption in ocean waters through an array of innovative systems and approaches.
Recognizing that oceans could play a key role in climate change mitigation, companies, scientists, and other field stakeholders have embarked on mCDR projects in this sector, creating a rapidly evolving decarbonization field that currently has ongoing early-stage research, in-water field trials, and even early deployment in some cases.
In parallel with this dynamic development, mCDR technologies also raise numerous questions around governance, environmental integrity, accountability, equity, and public trust, and the answers provided on them will meaningfully define this sector in the future.
The new mCDR forum is created to facilitate cross-sector discussions, where participants can engage in dialogues, knowledge and resource sharing, and community-building, helping this field advance with shared understanding and open communication.
This platform is being launched at a time of growing interest in mCDR, where governments are allocating research funding, companies are developing and testing different mCDR systems, and scientists are deep in research on the benefits, risks, and monitoring needs of these technologies.
Relevant: New EU Report Calls For Strict mCDR MRV Rules
The forum is explicitly mCDR approach-agnostic, and its idea and purpose are not to promote specific pathways or to advocate for deployment, but rather to serve as a space for informed discussion based in evidence, transparency, and accountability.
Additionally, the creators point out that participants are not asked to endorse position papers, sign letters, or converge on shared recommendations, and instead, they are welcomed to engage with peers in respectful conversations and mCDR dialogues.
The forum now offers a proactive space for transparent mCDR conversations, and interested parties are invited to register for it here.
Read more: [C]Worthy Secures New ORCA & PJMF Support To Scale Open-Source mCDR Tools
