Contrary to the trope of a regulatory vacuum, geoengineering already sits under a dense, restrictive canopy of norms... Since 2008, the CBD instituted an effective moratorium on ocean fertilization. The moratorium permits only narrowly tailored, justified, small-scale research... [I] The problem, therefore, is erosion of compliance, not a lacuna of rules.

Marine interventions are likewise cabined by the London Convention/Protocol... Exemptions for research are tightly drawn and explicitly preclude commercial elements, acting as a bulwark against carbon-credit schemes masquerading as science. [II] Even so, proposals crowd the horizon.

Beyond treaty silos, the precautionary principle and duties to prevent transboundary harm loom large. [III] In 2024, ITLOS advised that introducing pollutants could breach UNCLOS... Modeling even anticipates monsoon disruption; those least responsible for emissions would bear disproportionate risk...

Despite this architecture, experiments have multiplied... Voluntary carbon markets risk opening a “backdoor for commercialization” that undermines mitigation and rewards polluters. [IV] Counter-currents gather: over 500 scholars urge a Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement...