Bridging the Governance Gap in Marine Climate Interventions

As climate impacts intensify in our oceans, novel marine climate interventions—from coral restoration to ocean alkalinity enhancement—are rapidly emerging. But are we ready to govern them responsibly? New studies led by Assoc Prof Emily Ogier (CMS/IMAS) and Dr Sarah Lawless, and with co-authors including CMS Director Prof Gretta Pecl and CMS members Dr Georgina Gurney, Dr Cayne Layton, Dr Kirsty Nash and Dr Phillipa Cohen (Nature Climate Change & Cell Reports Sustainability, 2025) reveal a critical pacing problem: the speed of innovation is outstripping our governance systems, risking unintended ecological, social, and cultural consequences.

Key Insights:

• Over 75% of interventions are already at pilot or implementation stage.
• Most are assessed primarily on technical feasibility, with limited consideration of social, ethical, or cumulative impacts.
• Public deliberation is often procedural, not inclusive.
• Social responsibility is largely voluntary, not mandated.

What can we do?

Researchers

• Integrate social science, ethics, and participatory methods into intervention design.
• Use anticipatory tools (e.g., scenario planning, community visioning) to assess social risks and benefits.
• Collaborate with Indigenous and local knowledge holders from the outset.

Governments

• Codify social responsibility into permitting and regulatory frameworks.
• Require inclusive public engagement and cumulative impact assessments.
• Support capacity-building for ethical and social oversight.

Funders

• Invest in interdisciplinary teams and social science expertise.
• Require ethical accreditation and social safeguards as funding conditions.
• Support community-led and rights-based approaches to intervention.

Practitioners

• Move beyond “do no harm” to “do good”: prioritize equity, justice, and local benefit.
• Share moral responsibility—don’t outsource it.
• Develop responsible exit strategies and long-term accountability mechanisms.

These findings are a call to action: to ensure marine climate interventions are not only ecologically effective but also socially just and ethically sound. Let’s build ocean futures that are resilient, inclusive, and responsible!

Read more:

• Ogier et al. (2025) Nature Climate Change: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02291-4
• Lawless et al. (2025) Cell Reports Sustainability: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100366