The recording of the CDR Swiss Webinar with Frances Wang from ClimateWorks Foundation and Dr. Sifang Chen from Carbon180 on March 16, 2023 is now available online. Below, please find more information about the content of the webinar and the two guest speakers Frances Wang and Dr. Sifang Chen.

“Restoring Climate and Ocean Health through Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal”

Frances Wang, ClimateWorks Foundation

Support for scientific research and community co-creation is desperately needed to critically examine and validate the efficacy of ocean CDR as a climate action tool. To date, removing carbon from the ocean has largely been limited to laboratory testing and modeling. Responsible research trials will further reveal the real-world potentials and challenges of OCDR approaches but are currently limited by permitting challenges and the expensive cost associated with marine research. Furthermore, as these technologies enter the real world, co-creation with communities will be key in building trust and incorporating local knowledge to improve research design while respecting environmental justice principles. This talk did briefly examine the progress to date on issues around ocean CDR permitting and governance.

Frances Wang is the Associate Director of the Carbon Dioxide Removal Program at ClimateWorks Foundation. Her work focuses on supporting science and policy to foster responsible research and development of carbon dioxide removal approaches.

 “US Federal Policy Landscape for Ocean CDR”

Dr. Sifang Chen, Carbon180

The development of carbon removal in the US has been significantly influenced by federal policy. Despite gaining traction, ocean CDR faces a high level of uncertainty due to governance and knowledge gaps. Federal policy is in a prime position to reduce these uncertainties by supporting research and development and guiding responsible innovation in this area. This talk explored key challenges in ocean CDR and identified how federal policy can be leveraged to address them. Additionally, Sifang Chen mentioned recent policy developments in the US related to ocean CDR and highlighted new research programs that have been established to advance this promising technology.

Dr. Sifang Chen is a senior science and innovation advisor at Carbon180, where she works to ensure Carbon180’s policy work is informed by the most up-to-date science and industry knowledge. She has previously worked in science policy, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

A big thank you to Frances Wang and Dr. Sifang Chen for their exciting inputs on US policy and maritime CDR and the audience for the participation!