Governance of Ocean Carbon Capture and Storage: Interdisciplinary [Social Science] Perspectives

The accomplishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), the establishment of the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015) provided a new perspective for the future of international climate policy, by achieving targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mainly using fossil fuels, to the atmosphere. Within the last two decades, many countries pointed out collaboration and intentions to cut their emissions, recently submitting INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) as a path to limit global warming. Moreover, the theme of climate change presents several ramifications in science, starting with the concepts that involve mitigation, adaptation and needs of deploying new technologies , including the climate effects into oceans. In this line, this Research Topic aims to correlate climate aspects in the environment and the new technologies to tackle global warming and to protect oceans, such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

The economic development of major countries will be linked to the marine environment, increasing its share and the market´s relevance in the coming decades. The multiple views of oceans, a priori, seems dichotomous, and may lead to unwanted behaviors by agents. The long-term outcome can be more damaging to the environment than the establishment of modern and resilient governance mechanisms capable of adapting to the challenges of a low-carbon economy. Assessing the marine environment governance based on multiple long-term interests, and developing resilient models for its improvement can contribute to the challenges of a low carbon economy, such as carbon capture utilisation and storage technology.

We are interested in review and research articles on the following subjects:

1. The absence of norms harms the use of natural resources, as there may be abuse and misuse - this is also true for marine resources. Regulation can serve as an instrument to encourage and define parameters for the sustainable use of the ocean

2. Analysis of the effects of hydrocarbon exploration, mining and renewable energy beyond 200 miles from the point of view of government participation and its loss to the countries

3. Analysis of the potential use of natural resources and existing regulations to address sustainable use, socio-environmental benefits and challenges

4. Qualitative tools to assess the effectiveness of regulations that relate to the use of natural resources in the sea

5. Studies on marine environment governance in light of the low carbon economic future challenges

6. Proposal for governance models based on modern risk analysis tools