Uncharted Waters: Barriers to Ocean Carbon Removal in the High Seas Under UNCLOS and the BBNJ

By: Connor Stevens

PDF: Uncharted Waters

As global temperatures continue to rise, states are not on track to achieve net-zero carbon emission goals, as embodied in the Paris Agreement. Countries are beginning to research ocean carbon dioxide removal, such as macroalgae cultivation, iron fertilization and other geoengineering techniques, to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Implementation in the high seas would help drive removal efforts to the scale nations need to achieve net-zero goals. The legality of these techniques is subject to the United Convention of the Law of the Seas, which presents textual barriers to their deployment. The recent Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction adds further contours to ocean CDR permissibility in the high seas. A lack of scientific certainty on the risks of ocean CDR techniques, compounded by ambiguity in the UNCLOS and BBNJ, complicates the determination of which techniques, if any, are permitted in the high seas.

This Note evaluates UNCLOS and the BBNJ to determine the legality of ocean carbon dioxide removal in the high seas. This Note identifies the need for testing ocean CDR techniques to determine risks, while proposing a tiered approach to testing to balance the need for high volumes of carbon dioxide removal with concerns of marine solution.