Newswise — Washington, D.C. — October 1, 2018 — Blocking the Sun with celestial mirrors, blasting chemicals into the sky to deflect sunlight -- regardless of one’s views of Solar Radiation Management technologies, the work to govern them must begin now, according to a report released today by the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment at American University’s School of International Service. Entitled “Governing Solar Radiation Management,” the report was developed by an international Academic Working Group comprised of experts from the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. It is the first report authored by a group of global governance experts that independently analyzes the governance challenges associated with Solar Radiation Management and outlines the steps that must be taken now by governments, international organizations, and others around the globe.
“The growing threat of runaway climate change means Solar Radiation Management is being treated increasingly seriously by scientists and governments,” said Simon Nicholson, co-executive director of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, the group that oversaw the Academic Working Group and guided development of the report. “It is critical to address this issue and it is important that authors of this report, leading world experts, with profoundly different views on Solar Radiation Management research were able to find common ground on the near-term actions needed for its governance.”
Solar Radiation Management, also known as Solar Geoengineering or albedo modification, encompasses several hypothetical methods of responding to rapid climate change. If developed and deployed at scale, these technologies have the potential to dampen planetary warming by reflecting some amount of incoming sunlight back into space. Some of the most prominent proposals include artificially brightening marine clouds or depositing reflective particles into the stratosphere.
Such approaches could be an important component of humanity’s response to climate change. However, Solar Radiation Management proposals are controversial and present a number of serious risks, the authors caution. The new report establishes the need for policymakers to strike a balance between facilitating potentially valuable research, while putting in place safeguards against premature deployment and potential adverse effects. It also outlines objectives for effective governance and sets out three clusters of recommendations: the creation of politically legitimate deliberative bodies; leveraging the work and capabilities of existing international institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and the implementation of strategies to make research transparent and accountable.
The report authors conclude that Solar Radiation Management and its development will remain contentious, and that such debate is appropriate given “the scope of the climate challenge and the far-reaching impacts of any response to it.” The report also cautions that the fact that there will be disagreement about the efficacy and desirability of specific Solar Radiation Management experiments and proposals should not be an excuse to delay governance of the sector as a whole.
American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the United States and nearly 130 countries. Located in Washington, D.C., the university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nation’s capital and around the world.
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