Grants

American University

To develop and implement a community-oriented engagement approach on marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) in partnership with [C]Worthy, a focused research organization

  • Amount $951,463
  • City Washington, DC
  • Investigator Sara Nawaz
  • Year 2024
  • Program Research
  • Sub-program Energy and Environment

The ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink, absorbing approximately 30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions. As more carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, the ocean becomes more acidic and less able to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A growing number of scholars are investigating a process called Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), whereby alkaline (basic) natural substances, such as pulverized and calcium-rich rocks, are released into the ocean to increase the capacity for further carbon dioxide absorption. OAE is one of the main approaches among a larger portfolio of technologies and interventions know as marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR). mCDR is a nascent and growing field, with numerous technologies being studied and pilot-tested for deployment. Questions remain, however, about the technical feasibility and societal acceptance of mCDR interventions. At this early juncture, understanding community perspectives on OAE and mCDR technologies is critical. This grant funds a collaboration led by Sara Nawaz, Director of Research at the Institute for Carbon Removal at American University and Alicia Karspeck, founder and Chief Technology Officer at [C]Worthy, a Focused Research Organization.  Together, they plan to conduct a series of in-depth community engagement activities around two upcoming OAE field trials, one in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and the other off the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.  Grant funds will support Nawaz, Karspeck, and their team of two early-career scholars to engage stakeholders in each region to better understand public attitudes towards OAE and mCDR. The team will establish Community Advisory Boards consisting of participants from local environmental non-governmental organizations, Tribal communities, industry associations, port authorities, and local government representatives who can engage a broad swath of community stakeholders. In each locale, the team will organize two workshops to surface community concerns, address questions related to the OAE field trials and discuss priorities for how mCDR might impact these regions. In addition to providing information on OAE and mCDR approaches, the workshops will feature interactive scenario exercises designed to prompt deliberations about the future of larger scale mCDR. In addition to generating scholarly outputs, the team plans to publish a “Community Priorities on mCDR” document for each study region and will produce a toolkit for other researchers looking to recreate this in-depth model of community engaged research. The team will also develop and share insights about how social scientists can effectively engage with Focused Research Organizations in community-engaged research.

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