A vision of the world on the threshold of solar geoengineering deployment

Overview Climate change is coming, and we will not entirely prevent it. Although mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions) remains essential and adaptation (adjusting to an altered climate) will become urgent, mankind may increasingly look to climate intervention to reduce climate change and/or its impacts. Geoengineering refers broadly to two categories of interventions – those intended to remove and sequester greenhouse gases, and those intended to change the earth’s radiative balance (solar geoengineering) by deflecting a small fraction of the incoming sunlight. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that solar geoengineering would be feasible, inexpensive, and effective at cooling the earth. Nonetheless, there remain myriad unanswered questions, not merely about physical impacts and potential unintended consequences, but also about governance who decides whether to proceed; who manages the program and sets the targets; who pays; how are harmed parties compensated; what are the stopping rules. This study group seeks to explore some of the key governance questions surrounding solar geoengineering. Session 1 (September 26) A vision of the world on the threshold of solar geoengineering deployment Synopsis This session will explore the circumstances that could lead to deployment, including • The pre-deployment research program • Parameters of the initial deployment mission • Deployment technologies and costs • Geography of deployment and impacts• Political conditions necessary for successful deployment• Political scenarios that could lead to deployment• Possible organizational structures