Economic Aspects

There are very few cost estimates for marine CDR approaches (Fuss et al., 2018; GESAMP, 2019; Renforth and Henderson, 2017), and existing estimates for ocean alkalinization or ocean iron fertilization are based on incomplete information (Schäfer et al., 2015). Practical aspects of accounting for marine CDR in CO₂ credit allocation and integration into emissions trading/offset market systems are also unresolved. For example, integrated assessment models of climate-economy interaction have mostly not considered marine CDR, and these approaches are consequently not included in IPCC scenarios (Rickels et al., 2019). These knowledge gaps must be addressed before concrete assessments of marine CDR approaches can be undertaken.

References

Fuss, S. et al. (2018), Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects, Environmental Research Letters, 13, 063002.

GESAMP (2019), High level review of a wide range of proposed marine geoengineering techniques. (Boyd, P.W. and Vivian, C.M.G., eds.). (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/UN Environment/UNDP/ISA Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 98, 144 p.

Renforth, P. & Henderson, G. (2017), Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration. Reviews of Geophysics, 55, 636–674. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016RG000533

Rickels, W., Merk, C., Reith, F., Keller, D., & Oschlies, A. (2019), (Mis)conceptions about modelling of negative emissions technologies. Environmental Research Letters, 14: 104004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab3ab4

Schäfer, S. et al. (2015), The European Transdisciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering (EuTRACE): Removing Greenhouse Gases from the Atmosphere and Reflecting Sunlight away from Earth.