Oceans are on the frontline of an array of new marine–climate actions that are both poorly understood and under-regulated. Development and deployment of these interventions is outpacing governance readiness to address risks and ensure responsible transformation and effective action.
Recommendations for policy
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Identify public policy goals for marine–climate action and prioritize building institutional capacity for planning and management of climate mitigation and adaptation.
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Engage early with scientists, investors, affected communities and rights holders to plan for and design interventions to meet marine and climate system public policy goals.
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Marshal public deliberation. Use community planning and bioethical assessment processes to evaluate risks, benefits, missed opportunities and to design safeguards for proposed interventions.
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Require assessments at experimental and pilot scales that consider cumulative and long-term effects, and that take into account projected marine and climatic conditions.
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Build in social and ecological safeguards, such as moratoria, monitoring of and accountability for adverse impacts, measures to reduce negative impacts, and triggers for scaling back or decommissioning.
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Further reading
Boettcher, M. et al. Navigating potential hype and opportunity in governing marine carbon removal. Front. Clim. 3, 664456 (2021). This paper presents different approaches to the development of marine carbon dioxide removal policy.
Morrison, T. H. et al. Overcoming lock-in of science-policy responses to reef heating. Mar. Polic. 170, 106380 (2024). This paper provides options for expansion of policy responses to ocean warming and effects on reefs, for more effective and socially equitable outcomes.
Nawaz, S., St-Laurent, G. P. & Satterfield, T. Public evaluations of four approaches to ocean-based carbon dioxide removal. Clim. Polic. 23, 379–394 (2023). This paper illustrates the range of public values held for oceans and for climate action and how these influence public debate.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this study was received from the Australian Government via the Australia Research Council Discovery Projects grant scheme for the project DP220103921. International workshops at which this study was discussed were funded through The Nature Conservancy’s Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP 054). They were supported in-kind by James Cook University, UTAS, University of Melbourne, Wageningen University, IMAS, Centre for Marine Socioecology, Packard Foundation, Conservation International, Australian Institute of Marine Science, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and WorldFish-CGIAR.
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Ogier, E.M., Pecl, G.T., Hughes, T. et al. Enhance responsible governance to match the scale and pace of marine–climate interventions. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 356–357 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02292-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02292-3
