Legitimate Scientific Research: Objective Scientific Assessment of Marine Geoengineering Activities under the London Convention and London Protocol

Overall interest in marine geoengineering (MGE) techniques and in their potential to mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as the multiple interests driving urgency for deployment, have intensified. This article considers the scientific, measured, transparent, and robust approach taken by the joint-meetings of the Governing Bodies of the 1972 London Convention and the 1996 London Protocol and the regulatory framework they are developing in response, with a particular focus on the regulation and guidelines for legitimate scientific research for MGE activities. It unpacks key attributes of the research assessment framework, particularly its acknowledging and accounting for scientific gaps and uncertainties, as well as its informed application of the precautionary approach. This is especially relevant in the context of rapidly growing interest in MGE as a means of climate mitigation.