Researchers protest solar geoengineering’s use to combat climate change
An international group of scientists and experts wants all nations to sign a pact banning public funding and deployment of solar geoengineering, as well as outdoor experiments revolving around ways to ‘dim the sun.’
“Solar geoengineering at planetary scale is not governable in a globally inclusive and just manner within the current international political system,”In an open letter, the researchers submitted their thoughts in a Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change journal.
By using technology that reduces the sun’s rays, solar geoengineering attempts to lower Earth temperatures. Some proposals call for spraying aerosols in the stratosphere in order to stop solar energy spreading. This could be a response to global warming, according to some.
However, the letter’s writers warned against it “uncertainties”Concerning the impact of these technologies on weather, agriculture and supply of food, water.
The letter argued that the world’s poorest nations will be left highly vulnerable unless powerful countries place the technology of such planetary scale under international control.
It seems that the current global order is not capable of reaching such broad agreements regarding fair and effective political controls over solar geoengineering.
Media recently presented proposals for studying solar geoengineering at COP26 in Scotland, a significant UN summit on climate change.
The US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), released a March report recommending a $100-$200m investment in solar geoengineering research for five years. This was part of crafting “a robust portfolio of climate mitigation and adaptation policies.”NASEM argued outdoor experiments that release substances into the air must be restricted and strictly regulated.
NASEM stressed that solar geoengineering is not a replacement for reducing greenhouse gases emissions.
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