MOMBASA/Kenya: Civil Society Groups Warn Against Ocean Geoengineering, Call for Climate Solutions Rooted in Emissions Cuts
As the Our Ocean Conference drew to a close, a coalition of civil society organisations and climate justice advocates from across the globe raised fresh concerns over what they described as an accelerating push to develop and scale up marine geoengineering technologies under the banner of climate action.
The groups expressed alarm over new initiatives unveiled during the conference, including the launch of an African Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) Roadmap by the Ocean Climate Innovation Hub Kenya and a major funding commitment by the Carbon to Sea Initiative to expand global research into ocean alkalinity enhancement.
According to the organisations, the developments signal a coordinated effort to normalize large-scale technological interventions in marine ecosystems despite unresolved scientific, environmental and governance concerns.
Climate campaigners argued that marine geoengineering, particularly marine carbon dioxide removal technologies, risks diverting attention and resources away from the urgent task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at their source.
They maintained that many of the technologies being promoted have yet to demonstrate that captured carbon can be effectively stored over the long term, raising questions about their effectiveness as climate solutions.
Speaking on behalf of the FIDEP Foundation in Ghana, Amos Nkpeebo cautioned African governments against embracing marine geoengineering without critically examining its implications.
“The growing enthusiasm for mCDR is not occurring in a political vacuum. As financial interests, carbon markets and commercial actors move rapidly into the sector, Africa must carefully examine who benefits, who bears the risks and who ultimately controls the future governance of ocean-based climate interventions,” he said.
Nkpeebo argued that Africa has an opportunity to shape global discussions by promoting governance principles based on precaution, ecological stewardship, democratic participation and intergenerational responsibility.
Also weighing in, Kwami Kpondzo of the Global Forest Coalition and Centre pour la Justice Environnementale-Togo described the expansion of carbon market-driven ocean projects as a threat to marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
“The relentless attacks on the ocean through the development of carbon market schemes constitute crimes against marine life, marine ecosystems and the coastal communities and peoples who depend on the ocean,” he said.
Campaigners warned that the growing push for field trials and experimentation could transform oceans, particularly in developing countries, into testing grounds for unproven technologies whose long-term environmental consequences remain uncertain.
They noted that altering ocean chemistry through large-scale carbon removal techniques could affect nutrient cycles, disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the livelihoods, food systems and cultural heritage of coastal populations.
Kpondzo further warned that Indigenous peoples, traditional communities and fisherfolk who rely on marine resources would likely bear the greatest risks from such interventions.
“Fisher folks and coastal communities are already impacted by rising temperatures, flooding and coastal erosion. The deployment of dangerous technologies to remove carbon from the ocean will only worsen the climate crisis and its impacts on people and communities. Africa rejects all forms of geoengineering, including marine geoengineering. Our continent is not a laboratory for dangerous technologies,” he added.
Against this backdrop, the coalition welcomed remarks by Kenya’s Minister for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs supporting a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, describing the position as an important example of responsible ocean governance.
The groups argued that the same precautionary principles being applied to deep-sea mining should guide decisions on marine geoengineering.
Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Dr. Mfoniso Xael, said there was a growing danger that oceans could increasingly be viewed as sites for carbon storage and technological experimentation rather than living ecosystems that support millions of people.
“The ocean cannot be treated as a new frontier for speculative climate schemes or commercial interests, but must be protected as a shared commons for present and future generations,” Xael stated.
The coalition called on governments worldwide to prevent outdoor marine geoengineering experiments, strengthen protections for marine ecosystems and prioritize proven climate solutions focused on reducing emissions.
Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford of the Indigenous Environmental Network described marine geoengineering as a continuation of historical patterns of exploitation and marginalization of Indigenous peoples.
She argued that traditional ecological knowledge and community-based stewardship offer more sustainable pathways for addressing climate change than large-scale technological interventions.
The groups also pointed to existing international governance frameworks, including the de facto global moratorium on geoengineering reaffirmed in 2024 and the restrictive regulations under the London Convention and London Protocol governing marine geoengineering activities.
According to the coalition, bypassing these safeguards in pursuit of rapid technological deployment could undermine international efforts to protect ocean ecosystems.
Mary Church of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warned that marine carbon dioxide removal projects, many of which are linked to voluntary carbon markets, could cause irreversible environmental damage while diverting attention from proven, rights-based climate solutions.
“The ocean is our greatest ally in the fight against climate breakdown, not a laboratory for risky geoengineering. States must act now, uphold precaution, halt the proliferation of open-ocean geoengineering experiments and reject the normalization of these dangerous and unproven technologies,” she said.
The organisations concluded by urging governments to strengthen international oversight and focus on emissions reductions and ecosystem protection rather than relying on what they described as speculative technological fixes to the climate crisis.
