Plan Sea: Ocean Interventions to Address Climate Change
“Plan Sea” focuses on ocean-based climate solutions that seek to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (carbon dioxide removal) or reduce incoming solar radiation (solar radiation modification). The podcast scrutinizes risks and benefits of these options, as well as matters of governance, stakeholder engagement, ethics, and politics.
Plan Sea: Ocean Interventions to Address Climate Change
Special Episode by Plan Sea and The Carbon Curve: Insights from the Carbon to Sea 2025 Annual Convening with Dr. Lennart Bach
In this edition of Plan Sea, host Anna Madlener is joined by Na’im Merchant, host of The Carbon Curve podcast and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, for a special co-hosted episode of the two podcasts. Recorded live at the Carbon to Sea 2025 Annual Convening, Anna and Na’im speak with Lennart Bach, Associate Professor and ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) scientist at the University of Tasmania, to share insights and key takeaways from this year’s convening.
Last month, Carbon to Sea hosted its third Annual Convening in Washington, D.C., bringing together scientists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to share recent progress and discuss a path forward for OAE. Bach, who previously spoke with Plan Sea on his work in ocean iron fertilization, was a speaker on this year’s “Scientific Research Progress and Updates” panel. Focused on the environmental impacts of OAE, Bach’s research aims to learn more about how OAE approaches may impact the marine ecosystem.
Building on conversations from the convening, Bach joins Anna and Na’im to share his optimism about the future of OAE, while also recognizing the potential challenges posed by a dip in the “hype cycle” that emerging scientific fields often face. However, Bach said he feels confident in progress that’s already been made and noted the importance of building on preliminary findings about OAE’s potential to conduct more targeted research.
Na’im similarly addresses this challenging moment for the climate industry writ large, as it faces reduced funding and policy support in many areas, with new geopolitical headwinds. Drawing on his experience working across the carbon removal space, Na’im offers advice for how the OAE field can address this moment by prioritizing focused research, establishing an updated roadmap, and exploring new funding pathways.
Looking ahead, both Na’im and Bach highlight the importance of aligning on MRV approaches, cross-sector partnerships, increased community and policymaker engagement, and exploring new funding pathways in order to advance OAE research. As this year’s convening exemplified, the immediate opportunities in OAE research have largely been addressed; what lies ahead is more complex and demands significantly greater coordination.
Listen to our previous episode with Lennart Bach here.
ACRONYMS / CONCEPTS:
- OAE (2:28)
- MRV (18:06)
- DAC (23:37)
- CRCF (29:59)
- ETS (29:59)
- ERW (36:16)
Plan Sea is a semi-weekly podcast exploring ocean-based climate solutions, brought to you by the Carbon to Sea Initiative & the American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.
