Safeguarding from Acidification: Feedbacks and Ecosystem Services for European and global Action

Safeguarding from Acidification: Feedbacks and Ecosystem Services for European and global Action (SAFESEA) is a four-year project designed to co-develop science-based, stakeholder-driven responses to the growing threat of ocean acidification. SAFESEA will deliver decision-support tools, indicators, and narratives to inform governance and climate adaptation across national, regional, and global scales. The project focuses on three levels of impact: (i) the global scale, supporting the UNFCCC, IPCC, SDGs, and Planetary Boundaries framework; (ii) the regional scale, aligning with European Green Deal objectives and implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, OSPAR, HELCOM and the Barcelona Convention; and (iii) the national scale, with case studies in Norway, Chile, and the French-Mediterranean to support local government, industries, and communities. SAFESEA will advance knowledge on ocean acidification through coordinated observational strategies, process studies, and integrated modelling. It will reduce key uncertainties in ocean carbon uptake, trends, and variability from the surface to the ocean interior, with emphasis on the Arctic, Southern Ocean, and other under-observed regions. The project will investigate ocean acidification in the context of other stressors (e.g., warming and deoxygenation), assess impacts on ecosystems and services, and develop relevant indicators, thresholds, and governance frameworks. Through six interconnected work packages, SAFESEA will link science, society, and policy. It will strengthen data infrastructures and FAIR compliance, build capacity through co-creation and training, and ensure long-term impact through targeted dissemination, exploitation, and strategic alignment with EU and international initiatives. SAFESEA will provide the robust, stakeholder-aligned knowledge and tools needed to manage and adapt to ocean acidification in a rapidly changing world.