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Proceed with caution: Emerging marine-climate projects outpacing effective governance

Oceans are at the forefront of many new climate-related projects, but the speed that these projects are being developed and expanded is outpacing the ability to govern them effectively—and manage their potential impacts on marine ecosystems and communities.

A new study in Nature Climate Change highlights the wide variety of marine-climate interventions proposed or already deployed across 37 marine systems and shows that the speed of innovation is outstripping the ability to manage it responsibly. This includes verifying their real value in capturing and storing carbon dioxide over time, and ensuring appropriate protections are in place to prevent unintended marine ecosystem impacts.

"Our rapidly changing climate and warming oceans have created a clear and urgent need for innovative actions to sustain marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them," said lead author, Associate Professor Emily Ogier, who is a marine sociologist at the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).

"Actions being explored range from climate mitigation actions such as blue carbon programs and other marine carbon dioxide removal technologies, to climate adaptation actions including coral and seaweed replanting, and breeding marine species that are more tolerant to warming water.

"But while trials are underway across a variety of these new marine-climate interventions, the effectiveness of many projects is not clear, there is limited planning, and the potential to cause harm is under-regulated. So we're seeing a 'pacing problem'," Associate Professor Ogier said.

The study team surveyed 332 marine-climate project practitioners worldwide about this rapidly emerging field. They gathered information on the types of projects being developed or deployed, and their locations, stages of development, climate goals and governance arrangements.

"We found there were limited efforts to understand and solve the pacing problem between marine governance and climate intervention actions," said IMAS marine ecologist and co-author, Professor Gretta Pecl.

"We were able to classify the major types of marine-climate intervention projects, and extend existing frameworks for research and innovation to include responsible governance—and it revealed that governance arrangements are not keeping up with the pace of innovation."

The study found that arrangements for responsibly governing intervention risks are seldom observed, with assessments and approvals focused on technical feasibility to meet minimum permitting requirements. Meanwhile, limited consideration was given to cumulative impacts, community involvement, and ecological, cultural and social risks and benefits.

"Our study identifies policy gaps and gives recommendations for improving governance readiness for marine-climate interventions," Associate Professor Ogier said.

"For example, developing future-facing public policies at a bioregional level, and increasing the capacity for planning and managing climate actions. At experimental and pilot scales, we recommend that assessments should cover cumulative and interacting effects, and consider future marine and climatic conditions," she said.

"Action to reduce harm from climate change is urgently needed, but without clear policies in place, we will see many marine-climate projects continue to be tested and deployed in an under-regulated and potentially pseudo-scientific 'bubble.'"