During a recent government meeting, experts discussed the challenges and potential of marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as a strategy to combat climate change. While acknowledging the promise of various CDR approaches, they emphasized that none are currently ready for large-scale deployment due to significant gaps in scientific knowledge, engineering capabilities, and understanding of both environmental and social impacts.

The meeting highlighted the alarming statistic that approximately 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted annually, primarily from fossil fuel combustion. To stabilize the climate, experts stressed the urgent need for rapid decarbonization of the global economy, ultimately aiming for net-zero human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Participants noted that a combination of land-based and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal strategies could play a crucial role in addressing hard-to-abate emissions. However, for these methods to be effective, they must be scalable and economically viable, capable of removing tens to hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year.

The discussion also touched on the ocean's natural ability to absorb about 25% of human emissions through geochemical processes. One proposed method, ocean alkalinity enhancement, aims to increase the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide by adding alkalinity, thereby improving the solubility of carbon dioxide in seawater and facilitating its transfer from the atmosphere to the ocean.

As the meeting concluded, the consensus was clear: while marine carbon dioxide removal holds potential, significant research and development are necessary to ensure these methods can be implemented safely and effectively on a global scale.