When Are Small-Scale Field Experiments in Solar Geoengineering Worth Pursuing?

[Geoengineering News]

https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/25840/

Authors

O'Loughlin, Ryan and Visioni, Daniele 

28 June 2025

Abstract

We propose a set of heuristics—scientific rigor, safety, usefulness, and transparency—for assessing the pursuitworthiness of small-scale field experiments in solar geoengineering research. Rather than offering a fixed logic of pursuit, we emphasize that these heuristics should operate as part of a dynamic and iterative evaluative process within the solar geoengineering research community, responsive to changing modeling priorities, new data, and shifting ethical and political landscapes. We argue that such experiments must be understood within the broader context of climate modeling research, where their primary role is to improve model components and identify further uncertainties. As debates about “moonshot” research and urgent science continue to evolve, our heuristics offer a way for the community, and for potential funders, to evaluate field experiments without abandoning the standards that guide responsible inquiry. Although our heuristics presuppose the pursuitworthiness of solar geoengineering research as a whole, they provide a structured framework for evaluating which field experiments are worth undertaking and why.

Source: Phil Sci