Regulating Climate Engineering: Paradigmatic Aspects of the Regulation of Ocean Fertilization

Climate engineering – understood as the deliberate, large-scale and technology-based manipulation of the environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change – is currently under discussion as a promising option for policy makers to combat climate change. Most climate engineering techniques are in a status nascendi, i.e., their effectiveness has yet to be proven. Ocean fertilization, however, constitutes a special case of a climate engineering technology because its effects have been relatively well researched. Additionally, ocean fertilization has become subject to regulation under public international law under the London Convention and London Protocol. This article will assess to wh...