Research Institute for Sustainability Helmholtz Centre Potsdam

Governance, Policy and International Legal Dimensions of Ocean-based Negative Emission Technologies

Duration

bis
Barbara Neumann

Dr. Barbara Neumann

Research Group Leader
Stefan Schäfer

Dr. Stefan Schäfer

Research Group Leader
Within OceanNETs, experiments with the Kiel KOSMOS offshore mesocosms are planned to test the impacts and possible side effects of so-called ocean alkalinisation in ocean ecosystems.
Within OceanNETs, experiments with the Kiel KOSMOS offshore mesocosms are planned to test the impacts and possible side effects of so-called ocean alkalinisation in ocean ecosystems.

From a planetary perspective, the world's ocean is a major component of the Earth system and plays an important role in regulating the global climate. Seen from this perspective, the ocean's capacity to store large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) could be an opportunity to limit global warming if the oceanic uptake of CO2 can somehow be increased. However, knowledge of the technical and social feasibility, potential benefits, risks, side effects, and political dimensions of ocean-based "negative emission technologies" (NETs) is relatively limited.

OceanNETs - Transdisciplinary research on ocean-based negative emission technologies

The EU-funded project "Ocean-based Negative Emission Technologies - analyzing the feasibility, risks, and cobenefits of ocean-based negative emission technologies for stabilizing the climate" (OceanNETs) investigates whether ocean-based NETs can play a substantial and sustainable role in limiting global warming. An interdisciplinary consortium of 14 partners from six countries will work together to investigate the technical, environmental, economic and social dimensions of ocean-based NETs. Bringing together the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, the project employs a transdisciplinary research approach that entails close dialogue with relevant stakeholders to derive recommendations for science and policy.

Governance, policy and international legal dimensions of ocean-based NETs

RIFS, in partnership with the University of Hamburg, is responsible for Work Package 2 of OceanNETs, which will assess the governance, policy and legal dimensions of ocean-based NETs. The work package is divided into three tasks, two of which will be conducted at RIFS:

Ocean NETs, publics and new forms of governance

This task aims to better understand the conditions under which ocean-based NETs become feasible in, or rejected from, specific cultural and political contexts. Comparative research in Australia, Canada and Germany will focus on the emergence of ocean-based NETs as an object of scientific study, technology development, commercial exploitation, national regulatory power, global governance, and activism.

Regional and global ocean governance for emerging ocean-based NETs

This task aims to develop critical insights into the possible adoption and implementation of ocean-based NETs in relation to ocean governance. It will assess how the deployment of ocean-based NETs would be in keeping with the current legal and institutional frameworks for ocean governance, including key objectives and principles of ocean governance. Through expert elicitation and dialogue with key stakeholders, the research team aims to co-create a deliberative knowledge base and identify and prioritize key policy constraints and possible trade-offs and synergies of ocean-based NETs.

Funding information

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement number 869357.

Further links:

Disclaimer: This project website reflects only the authors' views and the European Commission and their executive agency are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Team

Barbara Neumann

Dr. Barbara Neumann

Research Group Leader
Scientific Project Leader
Stefan Schäfer

Dr. Stefan Schäfer

Research Group Leader
Scientific Project Leader
Lina Röschel

Lina Röschel

Research Associate
Research Associate
Administrator
Ivonne Triebel

Ivonne Triebel

Administrator
Administrator
Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence

Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence

Scientific Director
Scientific Director

Partners

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR)
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Universität Hamburg (UHH)
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI)
Institut für Weltwirtschaft (IFW)
University of Oslo (UIO)
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS (NORCE)
Heriot-Watt University (HWU)
Universität Leipzig
Ilmatieteen laitos
The Chancellor, Masters & Scholars of The University of Oxford (UOXF)
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
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