In this episode of Plan Sea, hosts Anna Madlener and Wil Burns sit down with Professor Dr. Alexander Proelss, Chair in the International Law of the Sea and International Environmental Law, Public International Law, and Public Law at the University of Hamburg, to discuss the current state and recent developments of international legal frameworks regulating ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (oCDR). Alexander discusses the need for international law to ensure responsible regulation of oCDR, and offers insight into the relevant international agreements for oCDR research.

Alexander joins Anna and Wil to help make sense of the existing international landscape, as well as what they mean for the development and regulation of ocean-climate research. He explains that international law is essential to ensuring responsible development of oCDR — and yet there is no single international treaty governing it.  

He explains how the 1972 London Convention and the 1996 London Protocol (LC/LP) — originally designed to regulate the dumping of waste but later adapted to govern marine geoengineering — is the most relevant international framework to date for its member states. However, it has had slow progress in listing and regulating oCDR methods such as ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). Alexander discusses how today, the LC/LP interacts with the Paris agreement, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the 2023 Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ). He also offers insight into how new legislation in Germany could make the country a “front runner” by implementing the LC/LP, permitting scientific research of several oCDR approaches and marking a significant shift from its previously highly precautionary stance.

Alexander also discusses the tendency of international agreements to limit oCDR activities to scientific research and how regulation must balance risk mitigation with harnessing the benefits of oCDR. Looking ahead, he explains how a clear framework for governing commercial activity could help proven oCDR methods grow responsibly. 

To learn more about the latest state of international legal frameworks for oCDR, listen to the episode above, subscribe with your favorite podcast service, or find the entire series here. 

Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative and the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.