Governing geoengineering research for the Great Barrier Reef

ABSTRACT

Coral reefs are highly vulnerable to the impacts of rising marine temperatures and marine heatwaves. Mitigating dangerous climate change is essential and urgent, but many reef systems are already suffering on current levels of warming. Geoengineering options are worth exploring to protect the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) from extreme warming conditions, but we contend that they require strong governance and public consultation from the outset. Australian governments are currently funding feasibility testing of three geoengineering proposals for the GBR. Each proposal involves manipulating ocean or atmospheric conditions to lower water temperatures and thereby reduce the threat of mass coral bleaching events. Innovative strategies to protect the GBR and field testing of these is essential, but current laws do not guarantee robust governance for field testing of these technologies. Nor do they provide the foundation for a more coherent national policy on climate intervention technologies more generally. Responsible governance frameworks, including detailed risk assessment and early public consultation, are necessary for geoengineering research to build legitimacy and promote scientific progress.

Key policy insights

• Marine heatwaves pose a serious threat to coral reefs, including Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.

• Australian governments have recognized the threats of warming waters, and are funding research of geoengineering options for the Great Barrier Reef.

• The limited earlier field testing of geoengineering demonstrates the need for specific governance to manage risks, build legitimacy and maintain public support.

• Australia requires a framework to govern geoengineering research and development before deployment of such technologies.

KEYWORDS:

• Geoengineering
• Great Barrier Reef
• law and governance
• public consultation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Competing interests

Authors declare no competing interests.

Notes on contributors

McDonald led the conceptualization, writing of original draft, review and editing.

McGee and Brent made equal contributions to conceptualization, writing, review and editing.

Burns contributed to review and editing.

ORCID

Jan McDonald http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7953-1458

Jeffrey McGee http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2093-5896

Kerryn Brent http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0983-2906

Additional information

Funding

Research for this letter was partially funded by the Centre for International Governance Innovation at Waterloo, Canada.