Database and report on currently already existing or announced ocean NETs projects, including a world map of projects

Abstract

Emissions trading systems (ETS) and markets usually do not allow for the inclusion of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) activities and if they do, removal activities are primarily restricted to afforestation. The New Zealand emission trading system (NZ ETS), for examples, integrates afforestation, and the California Low-Fuel Standard, the Quebec ETS and the Chinese ETS permit the restricted inclusion of afforestation offsets. Furthermore, the California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard System allows for the inclusion of removal via Direct Air Capture. In combination with the 45Q tax credit program, the largest incentives for CDR via Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs) are currently provided in the US. However, both do not yet allow for the inclusion of ocean-based carbon removal. Hence, we provide first a brief overview about the NZ ETS and its inclusion of afforestation, pointing out that the concept will likely not be applicable to ocean-based CDR with the potential exemption of blue carbon projects. Second, we discuss the 45Q tax credit program, the California Low-Fuel Standard System, and the California Compliance Offset Scheme. Third, we provide an overview about the company database related to ocean-based carbon removal. Fourth, we briefly look at the voluntary carbon market, providing some insights for carbon removal accounting.