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The IPCC AR6 WGIII reports states that limiting the extent of global warming requires both significant reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions and the rapid implementation of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches.

The use of ocean-based CDR techniques in support of these polices is gaining significant interest, as the enhancement of natural biological and abiotic processes, and application of engineered marine solutions, may offer the potential to remove gigatons of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year. However, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome before emerging ocean-based CDR approaches can be applied at the scale required to combat the effects of climate change.

SEAO2-CDR aims to establish and evaluate the mechanisms and processes required to ensure the environmentally safe, socially acceptable and economically viable implementation of appropriate ocean-based CDR approaches in support of global climate policies. It will achieve this by developing the tools and frameworks that facilitate the evaluation and application of archetypal biological, chemical and physical ocean-based CDR techniques. Common assessment processes, governance structures and technologies will be used to explore system-level interactions between different approaches in order to deliver the insights, tools and guidelines required for the safe and effective implementation of ocean-based CDR. These advances will enable SEAO2-CDR to help establish the extent to which such approaches can support climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and the transition to a climate-neutral and resilience society.

The project is funded through Horizon Europe call CL5-2022-D1-01-01 on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches. It will run for four years from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2027, includes 13 European partners and will work with a range of companies and institutions interested in ocean-based CDR.