Charting a Course: Strategic Planning for Marine CDR MRV

The report introduces a nine-step roadmap for mCDR companies to establish robust MRV systems, emphasizing the integration of direct measurements and modeling to quantify carbon removal. It outlines the organizational steps from initial strategy development to industry knowledge sharing, while highlighting the interdependence of MRV with engineering, permitting, and community engagement.

• The mCDR sector has experienced significant growth, with the number of startups increasing from only three founded before 2017 to more than 45 today.
• Effective mCDR MRV requires a two-pronged approach combining in situ measurements for near-field verification and hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models to quantify carbon removal over larger spatial footprints and longer timescales.
• The proposed MRV roadmap consists of nine major steps: developing an MRV strategy, designating an MRV lead, acquiring a technology stack, adopting an MRV protocol, drafting project-specific plans, identifying data management systems, designating monitoring/modeling teams, collecting and reporting data, and sharing lessons with the industry.
• Developing a new MRV protocol for a carbon removal registry can be a resource-intensive process that may take more than six months if an existing protocol cannot be adapted.
• MRV activities are deeply interconnected with other essential project functions, including CDR engineering design, community engagement, and permitting; for instance, obtaining pilot permits can cost over $1 million and take more than two years.

APA

RMI (2025). Charting a Course: Strategic Planning for Marine CDR MRV. https://rmi.org/resources/charting-a-course-strategic-planning-for-marine-cdr-mrv/

Chicago

RMI. Charting a Course: Strategic Planning for Marine CDR MRV. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/charting-a-course-strategic-planning-for-marine-cdr-mrv/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Charting a Course: Strategic Planning for Marine CDR MRV |date=2 July 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/charting-a-course-strategic-planning-for-marine-cdr-mrv/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025charting, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Charting a Course: Strategic Planning for Marine CDR MRV}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/charting-a-course-strategic-planning-for-marine-cdr-mrv/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }