Asilomar Conference on Climate Intervention Technologies

[Mike MacCracken]

Dear Colleague--

The attachment is a letter to those in the field of geoengineering who might
be interested in participating in the 2010 Asilomar conference planned for
March 22 (evening) through March 26 (morning). It is being released at this
time for planning purposes, pending the official announcement of the
conference about a month from now by the Climate Response Fund, which is
handling the financing of the meeting with support from government and
philanthropic entities not having a specific perspective on the conference
outcome or on the conduct of the conference.

The purpose of the conference is to work toward a set of guidelines for
undertaking research (particularly field research) on various geoengineering
technologies. Note that it is not a meeting where there will be
presentations of various technologies, though their character and nature are
likely to come up, but its intent is to focus on considering the types of
research that will be needed to evaluate them and guidelines for minimizing
environmental risks from such research.

The conference is being organized by a Scientific Organizing Committee
(SOC), the names of whom are listed in the letter. Attendance is by
invitation of the SOC and the intent is to ensure international
participation and that a wide range of perspectives are represented, with a
total attendance that is amenable to discussion and participation. The
agenda is being worked on by the SOC with the intent of encouraging a wide
ranging discussion of the issues--we hope to have it available by about
January 1.

There is no registration fee for attending the conference, but the cost of
staying at the Asilomar Conference Center (lodging, meals, and other costs)
are expected to come to roughly $600-$800 (depending on type of
accommodation) for the four nights. Depending on the final success of
fund-raising for the meeting and the funding needed to cover key
participants and speakers, the SOC may have some funds to help cover this
part of the expense for those likely to be able to contribute most to the
discussion, but this cannot be assured at this time.

If you are interested in attending, please follow the instructions in the
letter asking you to send in information needed for SOC consideration.

Please note that the conference will be conducted under the Chatham House
rule (so no quoting of participants without their specific agreement)--and
there will be a news (or chat or blog, etc.) embargo during the meeting so
that the discussion can be open and exploratory. Under these conditions,
those in the media (news, documentary, etc.) are also welcome to attend the
full conference, or they may choose to wait for the press briefing to be
held at the close of the meeting on March 26.

Mike MacCracken

Michael MacCracken, Chair of the SOC, and
Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs
Climate Institute
900 17th Street, Suite 700 (with Heinz Center)
Washington DC 20006

Tel (Climate Institute): +1-202-552-4723
Fax (Climate Institute): +1-202-737-6410
Conference Email: asil...@climate.org