Reaching gigaton-scale carbon dioxide removal by midcentury is essential to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change — but removal of that magnitude doesn’t happen overnight. Carbon180’s Road to 2030 provides actionable policy blueprints across ocean, technological, and agricultural carbon removal pathways. Charting the course to responsibly remove 30 million metric tons of CO2 in the US per year by 2030, these roadmaps offer recommendations for concrete policy priorities designed for today’s political moment.
The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet and plays a major role in absorbing carbon dioxide and moderating the climate. Marine carbon dioxide removal, also known as mCDR, harnesses that natural capacity, offering one of the most powerful and underutilized tools we have for addressing the climate crisis. The US has spent years at the forefront of this field, driving research, attracting private investment, and championed a safe, responsible, and economically robust mCDR industry.
By 2032, the US mCDR industry alone could be worth $2.4 billion and support more than 40,000 jobs — many in the coastal communities most vulnerable to the worst effects of climate change. But federal investment in mCDR has dropped from over $30 million in 2023 to roughly $11 million today. In contrast, the UK, EU, China, Singapore, Canada, and others have recently doubled down on mCDR and begun greenlighting their own programs.
Funding alone won’t accelerate mCDR. The field lacks the research support, governance, measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) infrastructure, and public trust needed to scale mCDR responsibly. Environmental impacts are not fully understood. Permitting frameworks applicable to mCDR activities — research, field trials, and deployment — are pieced together from authorities meant for very different purposes. And critically, mCDR does not have a broad social license, particularly in indigenous or coastal communities whose buy-in is essential. Stronger environmental assessments, transparency, and community co-development is needed, particularly around shared benefits and community consent. Without addressing these barriers, more funding won’t necessarily deliver results.
Our newly released federal policy roadmap, Scaling Carbon Dioxide Removal in the Ocean, is a concrete guide for policymakers to address the existing gaps to mCDR deployment. It identifies the five conditions that mCDR needs to scale responsibly and and translates each condition into near-term policy priorities. These include:
- Understanding environmental impact
- Confirming efficacy and durability
- Building social license
- Establishing scaling pathways
- Enabling responsible commercialization
| Enabling Condition | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Crosscutting | Pass the ReSCUE Oceans Act |
| Understanding Environmental Impact | Fund mCDR at the National Science Foundation via annual Appropriations process |
| Confirming Efficacy & Durability | Reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act |
| Building Social License | Support the mCDR Interagency Working Group |
| Establishing Scaling and Deployment | Reintroduce the Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation Act |
| Enabling Responsible Commercialization | Conduct a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of potential mCDR permitting pathways, jurisdictions, and statutory authorities |
This roadmap is grounded in a simple principle: mCDR must scale responsibly, or it should not scale at all. Any intervention that could affect ocean ecosystems or coastal communities must be approached carefully, transparently, and with strong accountability. For mCDR to deliver on its climate potential, the most promising approaches must move beyond small-scale research into responsible deployment. However, scaling cannot outpace science. A stepwise approach — moving from lab to pilot to larger-scale deployment only when supported by evidence — allows for effective and environmentally responsible scale-up. Premature scaling that cuts corners on science or community engagement doesn’t just risk harm, it risks setting the field back. Done right, mCDR can deliver climate impact, coastal economic opportunity, and a durable US competitive advantage.
There is much to be hopeful about for the future of mCDR policy. The bipartisan and bicameral ReSCUE Oceans Act is the first bill dedicated exclusively to mCDR addresses all five enabling conditions in one piece of legislation. Beyond just the ReSCUE Oceans Act, the policy roadmap calls for targeted appropriations across NOAA, DOE, NSF, NIST, and NASA, a closer look at the fragmented permitting landscape, and further investments in ocean observation infrastructure. These specific and actionable policy priorities can help shape mCDR deployment and support all of the enabling conditions needed for mCDR to succeed.
The decisions made in the next few years will determine whether the US leads in mCDR or follows. If you’re a policymaker, researcher, or advocate ready to help move mCDR forward, this roadmap is your starting point.
Edited by Ana Little-Saña. Image by Chase Baker.