Enhanced Coastal Weathering

Methodology overview

Methodology for ocean alkalinity enhancement through application of crusite minerals to coastal environments, accelerating natural CO2 drawdown through geochemical pathways. [FD-2026-08-24, sak D14: utenfor programrammen (umbrella-rensen) — trukket fra porteføljen. Demonstrasjonsprosjekter som refererer metodologien beholdes som historiske. Styreratifisering utestående.]

Eligibility criteria

• ●Target habitat is verifiably degraded, lost, or in measurable decline against a defensible reference state.
• ●Site has biophysical feasibility (substrate, water quality, temperature regime, larval supply) supported by site-specific surveys.
• ●Project owner or partner holds use rights for the full crediting period plus a 10-year post-credit monitoring window.
• ●Non-carbon function indicators (rugosity, structural complexity, density, biodiversity) are baselined before any restoration intervention.
• ●No translocation of non-native genotypes; provenance documentation required for all transplanted material.
• ●Permanence Option C applied — buffer drawn down at issuance and topped up against site-specific reversal triggers.
• ●CLOSED TO NEW APPLICATIONS. The taxonomy in force (Definitions Register v1.0 §2, MCC-100 cl. 0183.1) assigns this family the instrument code MCC-HYB, which FD-2026-09-03 item D1 abolished with no successor code — so no unit could be issued against an application accepted today, and no methodology exists in this family. The unit this family would carry, and the family boundaries themselves, are before the Governing Board (MCC-TAX-2026-001 Part B). Earlier text on this page said the crediting unit is MCC-MCU; no instrument assigns MCC-MCU to F02.

Quantification approach

Carbon pools and crediting metrics

• ●Standing biomass (kelp blades, coral skeletal mass, oyster shell mass) — reported but credited only as co-benefit
• ●Sediment carbon under structure (oyster reefs only, where measurable above noise)
• ●Function-equivalent units (FEUs) — primary crediting metric, not a carbon pool

Equations (in plain language)

• 1.FEU change = (post-intervention function score) minus (baseline function score), normalised to a reference-state ceiling.
• 2.Function score is a weighted composite of habitat extent, structural complexity (rugosity / vertical relief), key-species density and trophic indicator.
• 3.Where biomass-derived carbon is co-claimed, it is reported separately and counted only if remote sensing or in-situ measurement validates the gain.
• 4.Reversal: any loss of more than 20% of FEUs against the prior verification triggers a buffer pool draw plus a public reversal disclosure.

Reference methodology — starting point

Reference points include the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, the Society for Ecological Restoration International Standards (2nd edition), and IPCC Wetland Supplement methods for the small carbon side-claim. These are starting references being improved upon — MCC F02 differs by crediting function, not carbon proxies.

Where MCC improves on the reference

• ✓Function-first crediting unit (FEU) rather than carbon-equivalent fudge factors.
• ✓Mandatory provenance and genotype documentation for transplant material.
• ✓Reversal threshold (20% FEU loss) is hard-coded into the methodology, not left to verifier discretion.
• ✓AI-assisted side-scan sonar and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry analysis for rugosity and extent.

Monitoring requirements

Required data sources

• ●Sentinel-2 — kelp canopy extent, quarterly (where canopy reaches surface)
• ●Side-scan sonar / multibeam — biennial extent and rugosity for sub-surface habitats
• ●Diver belt-transect surveys — annual key-species density and percent cover
• ●SfM photogrammetry — annual 3-D habitat reconstruction at fixed stations
• ●Environmental DNA (eDNA) — annual, paired site / control
• ●Continuous temperature and pH loggers at minimum 2 stations per project

KPIs that must be tracked

Eligible co-benefits — SDG mapping

F-family F02 contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals. Indicators flagged as required must be reported at every verification; optional indicators may be claimed where the project chooses to report them.

Public consultation and community engagement

30-day public consultation is mandatory. Local fisher and dive-operator engagement is a separate required workstream — not a sub-set of public consultation. A community benefit-sharing schedule must be published before issuance.

Adopted documents and version history

The binding text for this family is the adopted guidance published at /transparency/documents, together with the register entry above. Version history is carried by those documents, not by this page.