Uncharted Waters: Examining the Risks of Marine Geoengineering

Panel from New York Climate Week 2025 on the risks of marine geoengineering.

This panel brings together leading scientists and scholars to examine the ecological, ethical, and geopolitical risks of marine carbon dioxide removal methods such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, ocean fertilization, and biomass sinking. Panelists will assess the potential impacts of these interventions on marine ecosystems, the limitations of monitoring and verification, and the broader implications for ocean governance and global climate justice. Drawing on insights from the physical, life, and social sciences, the discussion will critically evaluate whether marine geoengineering represents a viable climate response – or a dangerous diversion from more proven and equitable solutions.

As the climate crisis intensifies, marine geoengineering (MGE) has emerged as a controversial set of proposed interventions aimed at altering ocean chemistry or ecosystems to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Proponents argue that these techniques – such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, ocean fertilization, and biomass sinking – may be necessary tools to meet climate targets, and startups have already begun selling carbon credits and deploying these approaches. Yet mounting concerns have been raised about the ecological, ethical, and geopolitical risks of intervening in marine systems at scale.

This panel convenes experts in oceanography, marine ecology, and environmental social science to examine the scientific and societal implications of MGE. The panel will not only spotlight emerging scientific evidence but also raise critical questions: Who gets to decide what constitutes an “acceptable” risk to ocean systems? Can environmental harms be meaningfully monitored and contained? Are any MGE techniques appropriate for commercialization and sale on carbon markets? And what are the consequences of investing public and political attention in technologies that may never prove viable at scale? In a time of climate urgency, this panel asks whether marine geoengineering represents innovation – or a dangerous distraction.

Speakers:
Eesha Rangani, Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Alliance
Lisa A. Levin, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
David Santillo, Senior Scientist, Greenpeace Research Laboratories
Susanna Lidström, Researcher in Environmental History at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and visiting scholar at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography