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Dear ,
The European Commission took on SRM policy this month, as its Chief Scientific Advisors called for a moratorium on deployment but also backed continued research, allowing for small-scale outdoor experiments. In a new Perspective piece, Josh Horton summarises the recommendations and experts share their reactions.
Meanwhile, we have been hard at work developing new functionality and services since our Nov 26 launch. We’re pleased to announce that the great majority of our materials are now available in French and Spanish. At the same time, our content originates in English and is often technical, so errors may creep in. We would welcome our multilingual audience members’ support in identifying any mistakes, so that we can correct them and improve our process. Please submit any errors you discover here.
We’re also pleased to offer a new weekly bulletin. This is a more comprehensive and regular update of SRM news and events, but without the analysis included in the monthly newsletter. Subscribe here if you’d like to receive the bulletin, and of course feel free to share any feedback.
Over the coming months, we will be reaching out to progressively wider audiences and learning more about their information needs. We would be grateful if you could share this newsletter with your networks and encourage them to subscribe, follow our social media accounts, and ask any questions on SRM360’s feedback form.
Thank you for reading. Best wishes for a happy holiday season.
-The SRM360 Team |
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New From SRM360 |
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SRM360 Infographics aim to present complex concepts in a digestible, visually appealing way. We hope that you find them useful and welcome you to use them in your own content. |
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In Conversation |
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Pete Irvine, SRM360’s Editorial Director, was at the American Geophysical Union’s annual conference in Washington D.C., where he caught up with Prof. Chris Lennard, Dr. Lili Xia, and Dr. Tyler Felgenhauer to discuss recent developments in the field.
Listen at srm360.org or on your preferred podcast platform. |
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SRM Academic Highlights |
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Surfaces have different levels of reflectivity, or albedo. For example, the open ocean reflects very little sunlight while fresh snow is highly reflective. |
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Unexpected warming from surface albedo modification
In a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters, Cheng et al. found that increasing surface reflectivity to decrease temperatures in one area can increase temperatures in surrounding areas due to reductions in rainfall and soil moisture around the targeted area.
Time to move from informal to formal governance of SRM?
Brent et al.’s analysis of 10 informal SRM governance proposals in the journal Climate Policy shows a great deal of overlap in their recommendations. The authors believe there’s no need for further specificity and recommend that it's time to use these principles to guide the development of formal SRM governance structures.
Security experts see SRM very differently from climate modellers
Most climate modelling studies of SRM presume that it would be deployed in the global public interest. Through a series of interviews and group discussions, Corry et al. find that national security professionals see SRM playing out very differently and worry about the potential for disruption, distrust, and disinformation.
The Global South: neither climate laboratory nor knowledge vacuum
In a commentary for the journal Science, Rose Mutiso argues that real progress is being made in the Global South to understand the potential regional impacts of SRM and makes recommendations to strengthen this effort and advance Global South agency and interests.
The climate response to stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) depends on where it is released
In a series of climate model simulations, Henry et al. isolated the effects of releasing aerosols to the stratosphere at different latitudes. The team found that releasing particles at 30° north and south produced the most even cooling pattern of the scenarios studied.
The World Climate Research Programme should lead on climate intervention research
Hurrell et al. wrote a perspective arguing that the World Climate Research Programme should take a leadership role in climate intervention research, including SRM. They stressed the need for inclusivity and collaboration in this effort, especially with researchers from the Global South. |
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Community and Events |
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New report on SRM informs European Commission
In a new report that informed European science advisors’ recommendations on SRM (see below), SAPEA (akin to a European national academy of science) has released a broad, interdisciplinary overview of SRM that included policy options.
European Commission advisors issue recommendations on SRM
On December 9, the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission issued a formal Scientific Opinion on SRM, which included specific policy recommendations. Collectively, their recommendations would place strict limits on SRM deployment and large-scale outdoor experiments, while supporting expanded, publicly funded research on SRM, allowing for small-scale outdoor experiments.
European ethicists also weigh in on SRM
In a separate report, a group of European ethicists has surveyed the ethical landscape of SRM and put forward their own recommendations, including prioritising emissions cuts and decarbonisation, guarding against mitigation displacement, ensuring meaningful public engagement, and establishing inclusive and equitable governance.
AGU 2024 Summary
Several sessions and presentations at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2024 meeting (9–13 December 2024) focused on SRM, including a plenary session motivated by AGU’s recently developed ethical framework for climate intervention research, a roundtable on geoengineering ethics and COP29, and scientific presentations on potential SRM side effects. |
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In the Media |
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Scientific report to the EU Commission on deployment of SRM and further research
The moratorium on deployment recommended to the European Commission (see above) was interpreted as a ban in several media headlines, whilst the recommendation to continue research received less attention: Top advisers say EU should ban solar geoengineering … for now (Politico), EU should ban space mirrors and other solar geoengineering, scientists say (The Guardian), 'Don't mess with the sun's rays,' EU scientists warn (EuroNews).
Stratospheric monitoring could provide early warning of SAI deployment
NOAA's stratospheric monitoring system allows researchers to keep tabs on aerosol particles in the stratosphere. This system provides crucial scientific insights, but could also act as an early warning system: The US is building an early warning system to detect geoengineering (New York Times).
Ghanaian initiative to consider SRM governance
Members of the scientific community, government, civil society and the private sector in Ghana joined consultations to discuss potential frameworks for SRM: Ghana begins stakeholder engagements (Ghana Business News).
Florida state senator proposes bill to ban weather modification
A Florida state senator, Ileana Garcia, submitted a bill to ban all “weather modification” activities, which included language that would cover SRM. Florida is the latest of 10 states to have introduced such legislation, though only Tennessee has passed such a ban into law: Conspiracy Theorists and Vaccine Skeptics Have a New Target: Geoengineering (New York Times), Florida Introduces Bill to Ban 'Weather Modification' (Newsweek). |
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