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

From publication to action: Connecting science, policy, and public attention for ocean-related climate mitigation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article From publication to action: Connecting science, policy, and public attention for ocean-related climate mitigation Devi Veytia, Laurent Bopp, Vicky Martí Barclay, Simon Neill, Marie Bonnin, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8114358/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ocean-related options (OROs), including marine renewable energy and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, are emerging as key components of global climate mitigation portfolios. These options vary widely in technological maturity and risk acceptability, yet as scientific literature exponentially increases, ensuring that actions are informed by 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 ORO actions. However, when social media attention surpasses research, actions may advance ahead of science. This underscores the need for rapid and robust policy and legislation. Globally, 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. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences Scientific community and society/Scientific community Scientific community and society/Social sciences ocean-based solution net-zero marine CDR marine renewable energy shipping efficiency large language model systematic map evidence synthesis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplementarydata.zip supplementaryInformation.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 14 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8114358","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":552381607,"identity":"8526a068-d929-4091-b9e0-2164c53a0dc2","order_by":0,"name":"Devi Veytia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/0lEQVRIie3PsWrCQBzH8V84iMuROdLWvsIVwUVp6ZtcEOLiUHDJWCiYJeAD+BQurv5Lhix5gExtXJzjIt3af5KCU07HQu/LEY7/5QN3gM32F6NmcQJOWfLXBRzC5AoiBYTSLeFJaCZNEnD9muAS8bLkgZzlJNj1xCEK5mN4N3FJ0B+dpJ/nikkYJMIdFcF2BveWJ9CLTqKKUBPylAlqkvL15iDnS3eTz0NNvpn0Ti8tmdUXM5BCECEiJnKElmhlJP18SqSj6TBJ5cLnt8jmLdpAvOz9rarU4128yjbVcTse3K/jfVkZSBMfP7/+7iX8dnKxp/PWv+J3m81m+1f9AFjWWOhU6JTnAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"École Normale Supérieure - PSL","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Devi","middleName":"","lastName":"Veytia","suffix":""},{"id":552381609,"identity":"5d7824e7-6bf1-40f3-80c9-474adbc3abd5","order_by":1,"name":"Laurent Bopp","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"École Normale Supérieure - PSL","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laurent","middleName":"","lastName":"Bopp","suffix":""},{"id":552381610,"identity":"68951ee4-0cd3-49f9-818b-a02a087aca59","order_by":2,"name":"Vicky Martí Barclay","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Strathclyde","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vicky","middleName":"Martí","lastName":"Barclay","suffix":""},{"id":552381611,"identity":"7e9210fa-7339-4e37-8101-6124e1c6ef93","order_by":3,"name":"Simon Neill","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Bangor University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simon","middleName":"","lastName":"Neill","suffix":""},{"id":552381612,"identity":"a2272d6f-62a4-47f4-a65d-331bb4058645","order_by":4,"name":"Marie Bonnin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie","middleName":"","lastName":"Bonnin","suffix":""},{"id":552381613,"identity":"3869e5e4-59fd-4e2f-b08a-d6202998dbd1","order_by":5,"name":"Daniela M. 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