The direct application and potential indirect contribution of space law for solar radiation modification governance

[Geoengineering News]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/reel.12605

Authors

Rachel Neef

First published: 19 March 2025

https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12605

Abstract

Solar radiation modification (SRM) reflects sunlight back into space and could rapidly cool Earth, potentially reducing the harms of dangerous climate change. Current international law fails to directly and comprehensively address the transboundary, regional and global governance challenges that SRM presents. Various ideas for governance have emerged, drawing on multiple areas of existing law. This article offers a critical review of the existing space law literature and analyses its applicability to SRM governance. First, space law would ‘directly’ apply to space-based SRM proposals such as a large satellite sunshade. Second, this paper argues that space law could ‘indirectly’ contribute to SRM governance, in that space activities and their governance can provide useful insights for future SRM governance. This article pushes for a deeper investigation of space law to inform future SRM governance.

Source: Wiley Online Library