The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law is excited to present research on the legal liability considerations for mCDR projects. To ensure that mCDR research, and any potential deployment, is conducted in a safe and responsible manner, there must be a clear legal framework which, among other things, addresses questions of legal liability for environmental harm.
There is significant uncertainty regarding the liability frameworks that apply to mCDR. International law imposes an obligation to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment, as part of a broader obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. International law also provides a framework for imposing liability for failing to meet these obligations. However, due to the structure of international law, imposition of liability is often left to domestic law.
The U.S. provides an interesting case study on domestic liability frameworks that could apply to mCDR. While the U.S. has no laws that directly address mCDR, a number of pollution control laws could apply to mCDR activities. Through reviewing existing laws in the U.S, we can identify avenues available to impose liability, as well as gaps and areas for improvement in the existing regime as applied to mCDR. Learnings from this review can help to inform the assessment of other countries’ domestic laws and reform needs.
This presentation will begin with a review of key international agreements relevant to mCDR and the liability regimes they create. We will then discuss existing statutory and tort liability regimes in the U.S. that might apply to mCDR, drawing from a 2025 report published by the Sabin Center. The presentation will then consider the adequacy of these existing regimes and reform needs and opportunities. While the discussion will draw from U.S.-focused work, the learnings will be relevant to a broad range of countries that are pursuing or interested in pursuing mCDR projects