MAY 19TH – 21ST

2025 Annual Convening

At our 2025 Annual Convening, we are excited to bring together invited leaders from academia, the private sector, philanthropy, and government to share findings, connect, and accelerate knowledge sharing across disciplines. We hope to use this time together to inform, inspire and drive progress toward evaluating ocean-based climate solutions.

For any event-related questions, please reach out to info@carbontosea.org.

General Event Information

The conference will take place at the Courtyard Washington Downtown Washington / Convention Center at 901 L St NW, Washington, DC 20001.

 

Registration will take place on the second floor of the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown/Convention Center outside of the Shaw Ballroom on Monday, May 19th from 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM and on Tuesday, May 20th from 7:30 AM – 2:30 PM.

Please be advised that photographs and/or video footage may be taken at the event for use by Carbon to Sea Initiative publicly on our website, social media, and in the press.

Courtyard Washington Downtown / Convention Center

901 L St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Agenda

The 2025 Annual Convening will take place at the Courtyard Washington Downtown / Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from May 19 through May 21.

This year’s core agenda includes a welcome reception for all attendees on Monday, May 19 at 5:00 PM, followed by core programming all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Core programming will conclude by 4:00 PM Wednesday. Please find a detailed tentative agenda, below.

Additional optional sessions on community engagement and direct Congressional advocacy will run all day on Monday, May 19 and Thursday, May 22, for invited participants.

  • 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM – Registration

  • 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM – By Invitation Workshop: Engaging Communities and Building Trust
    • John Godec, president and owner of Godec, Randall & Associates Inc. (GRA) and founder of The Participation Company LLC.

  • 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Registration

  • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Welcome Reception (heavy hors d’oeuvres)
  • 7:00 AM – 2:30 PM – Registration Continues
  • 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM – Breakfast

  • 8:30 AM – Welcome
    • Dr. Antonius Gagern, Carbon to Sea

  • 8:40 AM – Scientific Research Progress and Updates
    • Dr. David Keller, Carbon to Sea
    • Dr. Lennart Bach, University of Tasmania
    • Dr. Dariia Atamanchuk, Dalhousie University
    • Dr. Adam Subhas, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
    • Dr. Mijndert van der Speek, Heriot-Watt University

  • 10:40 AM – Coffee

  • 11:00 AM – Exploring Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives
    • Diane Hoskins, Carbon to Sea
    • Derek Brockbank, Coastal States Organization
    • Dr. Simone Stewart, National Wildlife Federation
    • Frauke Kracke, Frontier Climate
    • Fatima Vahlsing, Ocean Conservancy

  • 12:10 PM – Lunch poster sessions

  • 2:00 PM – Keynote Address
    • Kim Stanley Robinson, author

  • 2:45 PM – Actionable Vision for the Next 24 Months (Part 1)
    • Noah Deich, C180
    • Major Announcements:
      • Emily Rogers, 3rd Derivative
      • Erin Burns, C180
      • Anu Khan, Carbon Removal Standards Initiative
      • Alicia Karspeck, CWorthy
      • Kelly Oskvig, NASEM
      • Grace Andrews, Hourglass Climate
      • Ruth Driscoll-Lovejoy, Ocean Visions
      • Sophie Gill, Isometric
      • Eric Siegel, OFI

  • 3:30 PM – Coffee

  • 3:50 PM – Actionable Vision for the Next 24 Months (Part 2)
    • Christoph Beutler, Carbon Gap
    • Selected Case Studies from Industry:
      • Allan Adams, Aquatic Labs
      • Mallory Ringham, Ebb
      • Kim Holzmann-Krolick, Planetary
      • Florian Brinkmann, Planeteers
      • Noah Planavsky CREW Carbon
      • Steve Romaniello, Vesta

  • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Happy hour reception
  • 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM – Breakfast

  • 8:30 AM – Selected Workshops
    • Charting the Future of MRV: A Statistical Roadmapping Exercise​​
      • Future MRV systems for ocean-based carbon removal will not look like those of today. The credibility of OAE as a climate solution depends on confronting that shift head-on: What must change to move from today’s bespoke, project-by-project quantification toward coordinated, statistically-defensible, and policy-aligned carbon accounting?

        This workshop, facilitated by Anna Madlener of Carbon to Sea, will focus not on hypothetical uncertainties, but on the structural ingredients needed to produce solid, trustable estimates of carbon removed—across projects, over time, and with traceable confidence. Through presentations and domain-specific breakout discussions, we’ll define what a feasible transition looks like: from today’s partial solutions, through fit-for-supplier improvements, and toward the future accounting infrastructure this field will require.

        Veronica Tamsitt, Anu Khan, and Simon Freeman will help facilitate expertise-specific group conversations.

    • Advancing Community Engagement and Case Studies
      • This workshop, facilitated by Tracey Brown and Nita Pillai of Sense about Science, will discuss real-world examples of community engagement from other fields in order to inform strategic approaches towards gaining community support for advancing ocean alkalinity enhancement research.

  • 12:00 PM – Lunch

  • 1:00 PM – Selected Workshops
    • Adding Value through Coordinated Field Research Agenda
      • Field research is essential to understand ocean alkalinity enhancement’s viability in the real world.

        This workshop, facilitated by Antonius Gagern and Nick Kleinert of Carbon to Sea, will develop a first-in-kind global field research and development agenda, including deep dives into feedstocks, ecological monitoring, MRV, community engagement, and economics. It will consider different stages of field research and how we should think about scaling to inform an upcoming Global Field Research RFP. Finally, attendees will design high-impact initiatives to drive coordination and accelerate learning across a network.

    • Best Practices for Environmental Impact Monitoring
      • This workshop, facilitated by David Keller, Samuel Fawcett, and Nina Bednarsek, will focus on advancing responsible approaches to ocean alkalinity enhancement field trials. We will introduce a developing framework for environmental impact monitoring, recently subjected to its first critical review. We will then explore key points of contention and ambiguity raised during that review, encouraging open dialogue around these complex issues. In the second half, participants will engage in a collaborative brainstorming exercise to define what constitutes an unacceptable environmental impact and to identify potential mitigation strategies if one is detected.

        These conversations are designed to foster transparency, solicit broad input, and guide the development of robust environmental monitoring practices.

  • 4:00 PM – Hill Day Prep
    • Hill day participants will prepare for their meetings.
    • Location: Courtyard Washington Downtown

  • 5:30 PM – Closing
    • Annual Convening programming concludes

By Invitation: Capitol Hill Day

  • 8:00 AM – Breakfast Briefing and Groups Prepare for Meetings
    • Location: Le Méridien Washington, D.C., The Madison, located at 1177 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005.

  • 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Scheduled Meetings
    • Confirmed attendees will participate in organized meetings with Congressional staff to educate them about ocean science efforts underway and federal needs related to ocean-based carbon dioxide removal. Individual group schedules will vary.

Accommodation & Transportation

Located a short walk from the conference venue, a block of discounted rooms is being held at the Le Méridien Washington, D.C., The Madison, located at 1177 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Reserve your room using the booking link below before April 18 in order to receive our discounted rate.

 

Booking link

The Courtyard is a 0.6 mile walk (about 15 minutes) from the Le Méridien. Walk along M St. NW, Massachusetts Ave NW and L St. NW.

Nearest airports are Washington DC DCA and Washington Dulles IAD.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall BWI is another further out airport option.

Union Station offers Amtrak, MARC, and VRE commuter rail options. MARC and VRE service the surrounding Virginia and Maryland area.

The Metro provides local transit within the Washington D.C. metro area.

Nearest Metrorail stations to Le Méridien:

  • 7 minute walk – McPherson Square (Orange, Blue, Silver)
    17 minute walk – Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center (Green, Yellow lines)
  • 18 minute walk – Metro Center Station (Red, Orange, Blue, Silver)

Nearest Metrobus stops to Courtyard:

  • 3 minute walk – 16 St NW & M St NW (S2, S9)
  • 6 minute walk – 14 St NW & L St NW (52, 54)
  • 7 minute walk – K St & 14th St NW WB (16Y, 52, 54, 59, 315, 325)

The Metro provides local transit within the Washington D.C. metro area.

Nearest Metrorail stations to Courtyard:

  • 3 minute walk – Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center (Green, Yellow lines)
  • 10 minute walk – Gallery Place-Chinatown Station (Red, Yellow, Green)
  • 12 minute walk – Metro Center Station (Red, Orange, Blue, Silver)

Nearest Metrobus stops to Courtyard:

  • 1 minute walk – 9th St NW & L St NW (G8)
  • 3 minute walk – 11th St NW & L St NW (63, 64)
  • 3 minute walk – 7th St NW & L St NW (70, 79)
  • 4 minute walk – 7th St NW + MT Vernon Pl NW (70)
  • 5 minute walk – New York Ave NW & 9th St NW (GT-US, D4)
Le Méridien Washington, D.C., The Madison

1177 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005

Speakers

Lennart Bach

University of Tasmania

Associate Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Kimberly Holzmann-Krolick

Planetary Technologies

Controller

Fatima Candace Vahlsing

Ocean Conservancy

Vice President for Climate

2024 Annual Convening Highlights