A new platform called Ocean Carbon Removal Watch will track the marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) sector with a focus on the investments, field trials, and research being conducted on these technologies. 

Introduced at the 2026 Carbon Forward Expo, held on October 14-15 in London, the platform will monitor mCDR development as this field attracts the attention of both investors and countries open to pilot deployments while still needing further proof of impact. 

The platform is led by journalists Allison Gacad and Alexandra Talty and is being launched with the support of the Pulitzer Center. 

Commenting on the platform launch, Jessica Aldred, an environmental journalist at the Pulitzer Center, shares that mCDR is a challenging topic to report on, and by backing the platform, the organization wants to build capacity, resources, and toolkits. 

“With more than $500M invested into this sector in the past five years, we want the database to lead to more reporting on this emerging topic for journalists and other interested parties – comms teams, academics, scientists, and hopefully the wider public,” Aldred says. 

Marine carbon removal entails a range of different approaches that leverage the ocean’s natural ability to absorb CO2 to tackle the accumulated carbon pollution in the atmosphere. 

It includes pathways such as ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), direct ocean capture (DOC), biomass sinking, restoring and protecting coastal habitats, and other emerging approaches that could play a vital role in climate change mitigation efforts. 

With mCDR attracting substantial funding and launching projects over the past year, the platform aims to track and show the flow of support, providing a clearer overview of this CO2 removal sector.

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