Fwd: Major new European National Academies report on solar geoengineering and climate protection
Simone Tilmes
Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2024 at 11:48 AM
Subject: Major new European National Academies report on solar geoengineering and climate protection
To:
Dear all,
I am overjoyed to share a report hot off the press published today from the Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission. It looks at solar geoengineering including controversial options such as stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, cirrus cloud thinning and even outer space-based extraterrestrial interventions. Refreshingly, about half of the report deals with non-technical aspects such as law and policy, governance, social acceptance, and ethics. There is a scoping paper, scientific opinion document, and the full-fledged 230+ page evidence review report, all free at this link:
https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/solar-radiation-modification/
Hats off to SAPEA for organizing such a talented and insightful expert group to work with. Also a shout out to colleagues Chad Baum, Livia Fritz, and Sean Low for their help in the role of “Science Writers.”
Sincerely,
Benjamin K. Sovacool (co-chair of the task force) and Johannes Quaas (co-chair)
Roberto Cantoni, IQS School of Management, Universitat Ramón Llull, Spain
Gabriel Chiodo, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Olaf Corry, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Ilias Fountoulakis, Academy of Athens, Greece
Oliver Geden, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Germany
Marco Grasso, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
Aarti Gupta, Wageningen University, Netherlands
Clare Heyward, UiT: The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Hannele Korhonen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland
Ulrike Lohmann, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Axel Michaelowa, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Perspectives Climate Research, Germany
Andreas Oschlies, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
Florian Rabitz, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania; Vilnius University, Lithuania
Herman Russchenberg, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Trude Storelvmo, University of Oslo, Norway
Katalin Sulyok, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Massimo Tavoni, Politecnico di Milano, Italy; Euromediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Italy
Simone Tilmes, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, United States
Renaud de RICHTER
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/09/eu-should-ban-space-mirrors-and-other-solar-geoengineering-warn-scientists
EU should ban space mirrors and other solar geoengineering, scientists say
European Commission scientific advisers say technology to offset global heating could wreak havoc on weather
Europe should ban space mirrors, cloud whitening and other untested tools being touted to reflect the sun’s rays, the European Commission’s scientific advisers have said, but said the door should be left open for research into their development.
The scientists said the risks and benefits of solar radiation modification (SRM) – also known as solar geoengineering – were “highly uncertain”. They called for an EU-wide moratorium on using it as a way to offset global heating.
SRM technologies can cool the planet by reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth. Supporters say they should be studied as global temperatures shoot ever closer to the limit of 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels that world leaders promised to stick to.
Critics argue that geoengineering does not address the root problem of heat-trapping pollutants that smother the Earth – making them at best a temporary fix while they are in use – and say they could also wreak havoc on the weather.
“Even if some of these proposals could address the symptoms of climate change, they do not address the cause,” said Barbara Prainsack, chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. “Presenting them as solutions could damage the efforts that are already under way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.”
Monday’s report, authored by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission, found the “deep uncertainties” of solar geoengineering were inconsistent with the EU’s precautionary principle and its responsibility to do no harm. The group’s top recommendation was to cut greenhouse gas pollution as the main way to avoid “dangerous” levels of climate change.
But it also called on the EU to negotiate a global system to regulate the future use of SRM – with a moratorium on its use “for the foreseeable future” – and ensure research into it was rigorous, responsible and ethical. It recommended ensuring that public funding does not take away from the money being spent to cut greenhouse gas pollution and adapt to a hotter planet.
Aarti Gupta, a professor of global environmental governance at Wageningen University, who was part of the team that produced the underlying report on which the scientists based their policy advice, said it was “crucially important” the EU calls for a moratorium on SRM and outdoor research with widespread impacts. “Most crucially, the EU now needs to show global leadership in pushing for an international ‘non-deployment’ regime on SRM.”
Governments failed to agree on how the United Nations should regulate SRM at a meeting in Nairobi in February. Switzerland had put forward an expert panel to explore the topic but African countries sought an outright ban, and Switzerland withdrew its proposal in response to the lack of enthusiasm.
The prospect of even researching the topic has divided scientists as well as governments. Dozens of scientists led by James Hansen, a former Nasa climate researcher, wrote an open letter calling for further study into solar geoengineering last year. A separate letter calling for a global ban attracted support from hundreds of scientists.
One fear is that allowing research into solar geoengineering will lead to a slippery slope that enables its use. Supporters counter that the temptation to deploy it is only going to grow and so it should be governed at a global level to avoid a rogue government or billionaire taking it into their own hands.
Renaud de RICHTER
Climate Clouds over Trump Land
Leon Di Marco 08/11/2024Trump has vowed to withdraw from America's climate pledges which he says will harm its competitiveness, and to terminate federal green policies that mandate subsidies.
This means that the United States will withdraw from its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which is a corollary of his "drill baby drill" mantra.
But is also means that US federal support for the nascent Carbon Dioxide Removal industry, and Direct Air Capture in particular, will be shut down next year.
That doesnt mean that Trump wont be subject to pressure from his voter base over their excalating climate trauma. In the south eastern part of the US, Florida for example, the working and middle class Trump supporters will look for a quick fix to their troubles.
Enter Trump sidekick Elon Musk with his fascination for techno-fixes. He will tell Trump that he can fix the pesky climate problem for nothing in under a year with Solar Radiation Management by loading the upper atmosphere with sulphur dioxide particles, using SpaceX vehicles to get it up there. No problem, done and dusted. American Tech Makes it Great Again.
However, not only do we not know what are the unintended consequences of man playing about with the atmosphere for the second time since the industrial revolution released a never ending torrent of fossil based greenhouse gases, we are certain that once we start, it is practically impossible to stop.The termination shock of doing so likely to be far worse than the original symptoms.
So hold on to your hats - the Trump-Musk circus is getting wilder and this time not only are the brakes off, there are rocket boosters behind it.