Decoding governance functions to navigate ocean-based climate action

Abstract Climate action is not constrained by a scarcity of options, but by how technologies, incentives, and power steer which innovations are scaled, which risks tolerated, and whose futures prioritised. Here, we apply a functional governance diagnostic to current popular experiments in ocean-based climate action. By systematically disentangling the functional dynamics shaping marine-climate governance, we identify strategic leverage points to responsibly navigate climate action in the ocean.