From publication to action: connecting science, policy, and public attention for ocean-related climate mitigation

Ocean-related options (OROs), including marine renewable energy and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, are emerging as promising climate mitigation actions. OROs vary widely in technological maturity and risk acceptability, yet as scientific literature exponentially increases, synthesising the current state of evidence is a major challenge. Using causal inference across diverse datasets from scientific publications, policy and legislation documents, social media posts, and deployment metrics, we identify scientific publications and social media attention as direct drivers of action. However, when social media attention overtakes research, actions may advance ahead of science – underscoring the need for responsive and robust policy development. Through a narrative analysis of three case studies, we identify that at a global scale, coordinated and well-designed policy with decisive implementation is key for catalysing step-changes in ORO progress. Together, our findings reveal the dynamic relationships linking science to action and highlight pathways for the effective and responsible scaling of OROs in the coming decades.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Climate Action
Published
2026-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-026-00410-1
Primary Topic
Coastal and Marine Management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

From publication to action: connecting science, policy, and public attention for ocean-related climate mitigation

Frédérique Viard, Marie Bonnin, Vicky Martí Barclay, Adrien Comte et al.
npj Climate Action
Coastal and Marine Management
article

From publication to action: connecting science, policy, and public attention for ocean-related climate mitigation

Frédérique Viard, Marie Bonnin, Vicky Martí Barclay, Adrien Comte, Devi Veytia, Joachim Claudet, Simon P. Neill, Olivier Thébaud, Daniela M. Carranza, Jean‐Pierre Gattuso, Laurent Bopp, Gaël Mariani, Christian Robert Voolstra, Yunne-Jai Shin
article en

Abstract

Ocean-related options (OROs), including marine renewable energy and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, are emerging as promising climate mitigation actions. OROs vary widely in technological maturity and risk acceptability, yet as scientific literature exponentially increases, synthesising the current state of evidence is a major challenge. Using causal inference across diverse datasets from scientific publications, policy and legislation documents, social media posts, and deployment metrics, we identify scientific publications and social media attention as direct drivers of action. However, when social media attention overtakes research, actions may advance ahead of science – underscoring the need for responsive and robust policy development. Through a narrative analysis of three case studies, we identify that at a global scale, coordinated and well-designed policy with decisive implementation is key for catalysing step-changes in ORO progress. Together, our findings reveal the dynamic relationships linking science to action and highlight pathways for the effective and responsible scaling of OROs in the coming decades.

npj Climate Action
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Ifremer (FR), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), Bangor University (GB), University of Strathclyde (GB), University of Konstanz (DE), Université de Montpellier (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (FR), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (FR), Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales (FR), Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (PF), Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (FR), Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (FR), Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), AMURE - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer (FR)
European Commission, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Coastal and Marine Management
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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