A new coalition uniting private companies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions to support the “responsible” growth of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has officially been launched.

As disclosed, the Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Coalition (mCDR Coalition), launched on August 21, will seek to inform and push forward research, support evidence-based policy engagements, and build relationships between science, conservation, and governance stakeholders.

The launch is described as representing “the first dedicated forum of its kind for mCDR”. The coalition is reportedly co-chaired by the Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), which encompasses more than 100 carbon management companies, and the World Ocean Council (WOC), which brings together shipping and energy players, among others, with the aim of fostering a sustainable blue economy.

As noted, other active members of the mCDR Coalition are Banyu Carbon, Captura, Capture6, Ebb Carbon, Equatic, Isometric, Limenet, Planetary, Puro.earth, SeaO2, Vesta, and Vycarb. Moreover, initial observers are said to include Carbon180, Carbon Removal Canada, Cascade Climate, [C]Worthy, Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University, and Ocean Visions.

According to the initiative’s representatives, the coalition—the members of which have been meeting for nearly two years to “align on shared challenges and opportunities” for the mCDR field—is to provide a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration on marine carbon dioxide removal across several pathways.

In this sense, the formal launch is hoped to further interest in the endeavor and, as a result, inspire additional organizations to join.

“Net zero is now regarded as impossible without carbon removal. Covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, the ocean offers the scale and potential needed to achieve climate goals. The mCDR Coalition is working to responsibly advance this emerging and vital maritime sector while raising its profile globally,” Jill Storey, Marine CDR Advisor to the World Ocean Council, highlighted.

The maritime transport industry has begun exploring marine carbon dioxide removal as a potential tool to complement hard-to-abate decarbonization efforts, though uncertainties surrounding regulation, permanence, and costs mean its role remains firmly in the experimental stage.

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) member states have already committed to bringing shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by or around 2050.

Simultaneously, the European Union’s FuelEU Maritime regulation and the extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to shipping are expected to soon tighten compliance obligations for carriers.

Both frameworks, however, only count direct emissions reductions; mCDR efforts do not qualify. Despite this, Norway-based classification society DNV predicts that the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sphere, specifically, could help capture 330 MtCO2 in 2050, equating to one quarter of total captured emissions.

Furthermore, several initiatives point to a potentially growing interest in linking ocean-based carbon removal with the shipping industry. For example, in 2023, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) partnered with U.S.-based startup Equatic to test an electrochemical process that strips CO2 from seawater and enhances natural uptake from the atmosphere.

In addition to this, in November 2024, the U.S. White House and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a national strategy for mCDR research, laying out a roadmap for how research could be “safely and effectively” accelerated, and helping determine if emerging approaches are viable climate solutions.