Topic: Marine Negative Emissions: Earth Sciences in the Governance of Global Warming

Speaker: Professor Liu Dahai, School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China

Time: 14:00–15:40 on Friday, May 2, 2025 (Central European Time)

Location: Room E1, Vienna Conference Center, Austria + Online via Zoom

Lecture Overview:

In the context of global climate change and the transition to carbon neutrality, the integration of science, policy, and governance is more critical than ever. At the 2025 European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, the highest-level strategic dialogue session, Union Symposia US2, titled “Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal: Fostering Earth Science Forces for Combating Global Warming,” will focus on global governance pathways for marine negative emissions. This session highlights China’s strategic contributions to the international climate discourse.

The EGU General Assembly is the largest global conference in Earth system sciences, attracting over 20,000 scientists, policymakers, and representatives from international organizations from more than 100 countries. They will discuss major issues in Earth, ocean, atmospheric, hydrological, climate, and space sciences.

Meeting Introduction:

Exploring Global Governance Pathways for Marine Negative Emissions

Among the nine Union Symposia, the US2 session on “Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal” is a key link focusing on “ocean climate solutions.” This meeting will address the scientific principles, technological pathways, and policy mechanisms of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR). Topics include:

• Synergistic mechanisms of ocean carbon pumps (biological carbon pump, microbial pump, carbonate counter pump, etc.);
• Ocean ecological engineering technologies (e.g., alkalinity enhancement, seaweed cultivation, sequestration systems);
• Construction of MRV (monitorable, reportable, and verifiable) systems;
• Global ethics and public acceptance frameworks;
• Global institutional design and governance consensus under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

This session is convened by Professor Carolin Löscher from the University of Southern Denmark, Professor Liu Dahai from Renmin University of China, Professor Gerhard Herndl from the University of Vienna, Dr. Sonja Geilert from the GFZ Research Centre, and Dr. Giulia Faucher from OGS. Notably, this is the only session in the EGU Union Symposia convened by a professor from a Chinese university, marking China’s transition from research frontiers to the core of international rule-making.

Connecting “Ocean Carbon Sinks” with “Global Governance”:

Global MSP 2060-ONCE Plan Launch

The US2 session also serves as a platform for the Global Marine Spatial Planning 2060 under the Framework of Ocean Negative Emissions (Global MSP 2060-ONCE), a project under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Led by Professor Liu Dahai as the chief scientist, the project aims to:

• Develop an integrated governance framework for “ocean carbon sinks - spatial planning - institutional design” targeting carbon neutrality by 2060;
• Develop global priority zoning technology for ocean carbon sequestration and enhancement;
• Design global ocean carbon sink spatial functional zoning management;
• Support the transition of global ocean negative emission technologies from action pathways to institutional supply;
• Promote transnational or regional carbon sink collaborative management and blue carbon platform construction.

This project is a key supporting project of the Ocean Negative Carbon Emission (ONCE) large-scale scientific plan led by Academician Jiao Nianzhi, driving China’s participation in the global ocean negative emission agenda.

Speakers:

• Louis Legendre: Sorbonne University, France
  Professor Legendre is an emeritus professor at Sorbonne University and Laval University in Canada, specializing in biological oceanography and marine biogeochemistry. He is a foreign member of the Royal Society of Canada, the European Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research in marine carbon cycling, especially in microbial carbon pump mechanisms and ecological modeling, provides a crucial scientific foundation for the development of mCDR technologies.
• Dariia Atamanchuk: Dalhousie University, Canada
  Dr. Atamanchuk is a senior research scientist in the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University, with a Ph.D. in marine chemistry from the University of Gothenburg. She focuses on marine biogeochemical processes and has extensive experience in developing and applying high-resolution sensor technologies for long-term monitoring of CO2 and carbonate system parameters in seawater. Her work supports the development of mCDR technologies through key scientific contributions in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and marine carbonate system measurements.
• David Ho: University of Hawaii & [C]Worthy, *
  Professor Ho is a professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, specializing in ocean carbon cycling, air-sea exchange, and mCDR research. He is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of the non-profit research organization [C]Worthy, which develops open-source MRV tools for mCDR. His experience in scientific research and policy-making provides critical support for the institutionalization, transparency, and feasibility of mCDR technologies.

Agenda:

• 14:00–14:05: Opening Introduction
• 14:05–14:35: Self-introductions and Research Backgrounds of Speakers
• 14:35–15:25: Roundtable Discussion: Potential Assessment, Applicability, MRV, and Future Pathways
• 15:25–15:40: Q&A and Concluding Remarks

Format: Hybrid in-person and online, Room E1, Vienna Conference Center, Austria, and online via Zoom

Contact: Dong Tong, Email: dongtong@fio.org.cn

We warmly invite scholars, policymakers, students, and representatives from institutions in the fields of marine sciences, climate, ecology, policy, and governance to participate in this important session. Let us join forces through scientific dialogue and interdisciplinary cooperation to advance a sustainable, carbon-neutral future.

Follow us: For the latest updates, visit the EGU 2025 US2 session page (https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/session/54307) or contact the session coordinator for materials, Zoom links, and further collaboration information.

See you in Vienna and online on May 2, 2025!