CSSN-Briefing_-NAS-Solar-Geoengineering_Final.pdf

[Andrew Lockley]

CSSN Position Paper 2021:2

Solar Geoengineering Research in the

United States: Key Critical Questions

In anticipation of the March 25th release of the National Academies report: Reflecting Sunlight:

Recommendations for Solar Geoengineering Research and Research Governance, this brief primer

outlines three areas of key questions to ask about any effort to advance solar geoengineering

research using public funds.

Background

Solar geoengineering, also referred to by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

(NASEM) as sunlight reflection or climate intervention, comprises prospective technologies that could

potentially cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back to space (or, more technically, ‘modifying Earth’s

albedo’).

1 Proposed strategies include spraying aerosols into the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight

(this is the leading solar geoengineering proposal known as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI)),

enhancing the reflectivity of clouds over the ocean, and increasing the reflectivity of the Arctic by spreading

glass microspheres across the ice. Once on the fringes of climate policy, solar geoengineering is gaining

traction, particularly in the United States, where some are calling for substantial public investment in solar

geoengineering research.

2 During the past five years, the U.S. has become the world leader in solar

geoengineering research, with multiple philanthropic efforts funding research at major universities,

including Harvard, where researchers are preparing to launch the first outdoor field experiments testing SAI

technology in Sweden during summer 2021.

3

These philanthropic-academic research efforts are expanding into federal policy, with Congressional

appropriation of $4 million to NOAA to advance solar geoengineering research,

4 calls for a ten-fold increase

in that funding from high-level science advisors in the Biden Administration,

5 and the forthcoming National

Academies (NASEM) report, which is expected to propose guidance on federal funding, research, and

governance of solar geoengineering in the U.S.

[Robert Kennedy]

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reflecting-sunlight-report-release-tickets-145868401315?aff=odeimcmailchimp&mc_cid=3ab7b3aca2&mc_eid=718c68cad6

[SALTER Stephen]

Hi All

 

I wonder why they did not include a reference to doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-629

 

Stephen Salter

Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design

School of Engineering

Mayfield Road  EH9 3 DW

University of Edinburgh

Scotland.

Tel 0131 662 1180

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBB6WtH_Ni8

  

 

 

 

From: geoengi...@googlegroups.com <geoengi...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Robert Kennedy
Sent: 25 March 2021 16:07
To: geoengineering <geoengi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [geo] National Academy briefing re: geoengineering governing happening right now

 

This email was sent to you by someone outside the University.

You should only click on links or attachments if you are certain that the email is genuine and the content is safe.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to geoengineerin...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/4a9c0ccc-0eca-4e0d-82ba-902a9e70af66n%40googlegroups.com.

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336.

[Douglas MacMartin]

The charge to the committee was to recommend research agenda and research governance, not to assess the literature.  We provided background material that we felt was sufficient to motivate the research agenda and governance recommendations, but the report should not in any way be interpreted as a comprehensive assessment of the literature (where we might have cited maybe 10% (?) of what’s been written).

 

doug

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/PR3PR05MB7354C695D0FB64650963C486A7629%40PR3PR05MB7354.eurprd05.prod.outlook.com.