IMO adopts assessment frameworks for marine geoengineering research

The International Maritime Organization has adopted assessment frameworks to help governments scrutinise marine geoengineering research, as interest grows in using the ocean to mitigate climate change. Hellenic Shipping News, carrying an IMO report, said the guidance is intended to prevent research activities from causing unacceptable harm to the marine environment.

The decision covers ocean fertilisation, ocean alkalinity enhancement and ocean sinking biomass. Parties to the London Convention and London Protocol adopted the frameworks through a resolution at IMO headquarters in London. Governments will use them to judge individual proposals, establishing whether an activity qualifies as legitimate scientific research and whether its environmental risks are acceptable.

Marine geoengineering seeks to strengthen the ocean’s ability to take up atmospheric carbon dioxide or retain carbon over long periods. However, the effects of these techniques on marine ecosystems remain incompletely understood. According to the report, the Parties stressed that research must advance cautiously, with environmental protection taking precedence, and that more scientific work is needed before activities beyond research can be considered.

Under the new frameworks, proposals must establish a genuine scientific purpose and include comprehensive assessments of environmental risk. They must also provide for stakeholder consultation, peer review, robust monitoring and transparent reporting. IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez welcomed the decision, saying the frameworks would give regulators and researchers a rigorous, transparent basis for evaluating proposals at a time of increasing scientific, commercial and public interest.

The meeting also approved guidance, developed with UNEP, on managing fibreglass reinforced vessels at the end of their service lives and on alternatives to disposal at sea. Separately, the Parties agreed to undertake work between sessions examining how the London Convention and London Protocol relate to the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

The decisions came at the London Convention’s 48th Consultative Meeting and the London Protocol’s 21st meeting of contracting parties. The source places the sessions on 5–9 October 2026 at IMO headquarters, chaired by South Africa’s Radia Razack.