EDF Launches New Research Program on Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions

(BOSTON - April 21, 2026) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is launching a new research program designed to help answer two key questions: Could phytoplankton help remove carbon from the atmosphere, and what are the effects on people and the environment? 

With funding from the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA), EDF will lead a coordinated research initiative that builds on Ocean Visions’ “Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions” (PCS) research agenda.           

PCS seek to leverage the ocean’s natural biological carbon pump by stimulating phytoplankton blooms to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the export of organic carbon into the deep ocean. PCS include ocean fertilization approaches, which have been subject to limited experimentation since the 1990s, as well as newer concepts.

EDF has a track record of coordinating collaborative research on carbon storage in natural ecosystems in the marine and coastal environment. The ocean is a massive carbon sink and a complex system where human interventions can impact everything from the environment to the social and economic fabric of communities. EDF is taking a holistic approach to exploring the potential of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approaches – like PCS – to identify the areas with the greatest potential to accelerate innovation with minimal risks. 

“The role of the ocean in helping solve the climate challenge is an emerging frontier. The PCS research agenda has identified priority areas for inquiry into PCS approaches and the functioning of the ocean’s biological carbon pump,” said Dr. Kristin Kleisner, Associate Vice President for Ocean Science at EDF, who is leading the new program. “Now EDF is poised to mobilize the marine and social science, governance and frontline communities to work together to determine if PCS is effective and safe for the climate, people and nature.” 

This program will synthesize and expand the body of knowledge and ongoing research on PCS and the ocean’s natural biological carbon pump to critically evaluate whether and which PCS approaches should be studied further, constrained to specific contexts, or discontinued altogether. The research under the program will support modeling, limited field work, natural analog studies, and social-ecological impacts research.

Under the new program, EDF will serve as the coordinating scientific lead to ensure that the best science available is harnessed to answer the most decision-relevant questions by identifying and resolving critical unknowns. Under the program, EDF will:

• Translate the recommendations from the PCS report developed by Ocean Visions into a sequenced research portfolio;
• Fund a set of research projects via Requests for Proposals for release in fall 2026 and early 2027 that also integrate relevant equity and justice considerations;
• Provide additional funding pathways for community-driven activities;
• Build, coordinate, and connect the research community, including establishing a scientific advisory board and broadening global participation;
• Deliver high-quality synthesis and decision support to inform policymakers, the broader research community, and civil society; and
• Maintain flexibility and share findings widely, including evidence that may indicate a particular PCS pathway is non-viable, unsafe, undesirable, or uncertain.

“We look forward to this next phase of PCS work,” said Dr. Mattias Cape, Marine Biogeochemical Ocean Scientist at EDF and Advisor to the Ocean Vision’s PCS research agenda. “It will be critical not only to expand both the research itself, but also the community of scientists conducting it, including the vast international community of researchers who have studied the biological carbon pump for decades. This should not be a top-down endeavor, but rather one that solicits and actively integrates feedback and perspectives from a variety of stakeholders,” he added.