Climate crisis has spurred urgency of innovation and intervention in coral reef ecosystems. These interventions are shaped by ‘emergency’ response: urgent speed, experimentation and potential modification of coral ecosystems. But with this shift to emergency responses, there is a need to identify any unintended consequences in order to anticipate risks, limit harm and improve effectiveness.
To better understand the potential unintended consequences of novel coral climate interventions, we conducted a global survey of scientists and practitioners involved in interventions across a range of stages and geographic locations to identify their concerns. We find concerns relating to first, second and third order intervention effects, with a significant proportion focused on the issue of moral hazard and its effect on broader social and climate interactions. In addition, concerns also related to governing processes, indicating the need for those involved with coral climate interventions to implement more socially responsible governance systems.