MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING AND SEABED ALLOCATION

Government can plan where offshore CO₂ storage and other permitted CDR activities should be located, then grant developers rights to investigate and use those areas. Before offering an area, authorities assess how development would affect fishing, shipping, habitats and other uses of the sea. They then use licences, seabed leases or other agreements to decide which developer may work there, for how long and under what conditions. For example, a company could receive rights to survey a potential storage site before seeking permission to inject CO₂. This helps developers invest in suitable locations and addresses conflicts before projects proceed. The lever combines choosing locations with granting access to them. General eligibility to lease public land and final project approval remain separate decisions.

Authorities need evidence about geology, habitats and existing activities before offering areas to developers. They should consider the combined effects of several projects, including impacts on neighbouring waters and coastal communities. A marine plan establishes which uses are acceptable in an area. A licence authorises specified activities, while an agreement with the seabed owner gives the developer access. Environmental approval sets conditions for managing the project's impacts. Developers may need all these decisions, and each authority should explain what its decision allows. Agreements should distinguish permission to investigate from permission to operate, set deadlines and allow unused rights to be withdrawn. Storage may serve fossil CO₂ capture as well as removals. Designating a research area cannot authorise an otherwise prohibited activity.

Planning can identify conflicts before developers spend heavily on surveys and site design. Publishing where projects may be considered and how companies can apply gives developers a clearer basis for choosing sites. Authorities can allow limited surveys before requiring a company to commit to a commercial lease. Planning pipeline routes alongside storage areas can also help several projects use the same infrastructure. Together, these steps can reduce repeated negotiations and uncertainty about where development is acceptable. Site investigations are still necessary to establish whether the geology can safely store CO₂ and whether the project is commercially viable.

Offering areas before enough is known about them can direct investment towards unsuitable sites or displace valuable existing uses. Companies may also hold rights without developing them, preventing others from doing so. If fishers and communities have little influence over the plan, disputes may reappear when projects seek permits. Developers may mistake an area marked as suitable for a guarantee that they can obtain a lease or operating approval. Authorities should explain those remaining decisions and why plans might change. Permission to research marine CDR also does not establish that a method is safe for wider use.

Authorities should examine whether offered areas attract site investigations and whether successful investigations lead to leases, permits and development. They should also assess delays, disputes, harm to existing users or ecosystems, and sites held without progress. Survey results may show that an area is unsuitable or needs different conditions. This evidence should guide changes to the plan and application process, including whether to withdraw unused rights or reopen areas to other developers. Companies need notice and an opportunity to challenge decisions that affect investments already made.

Fishers, shipping operators, energy companies, conservation bodies, defence authorities and coastal and Indigenous communities should explain how they use proposed areas and how development would affect them. Geological and ecological experts assess whether sites are suitable. Planning authorities, regulators and seabed owners should agree which decisions each will make and in what order. They should also explain how existing users can influence the plan and how developers apply for surveys, seabed access and operating approval.

National governments can adopt marine plans and empower regulators or public seabed owners to grant access. Regional, state or devolved governments can make similar decisions where legislation gives them that responsibility, as in Scotland. These bodies must agree how their plans, licences and seabed agreements work together, including across borders. The EU requires coastal member states to prepare plans, but national authorities decide how to use their marine space and which developers may access particular sites.