World’s first SRM social science research programme for the Global South

[Andy Parker]

Hi all,

The Degrees Initiative has announced the first nine teams to receive research grants from our new Socio-Political Fund (SPF). The teams are from the Americas, Africa and Asia, and they will spend the next couple of years exploring the ethical, economic, public perception, and political dimensions of SRM. A list of the team, PIs and research topics is below.

The Socio-Political Fund is the world’s first SRM research programme aimed exclusively at social scientists in the Global South. It follows in the footsteps of the Degrees Modelling Fund, which was launched in 2018 and has supported more than 150 scientists in 22 developing countries as they model SRM impacts in their regions. The modelling fund was responsible for the first SRM modelling projects in South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is now the largest SRM research programme in the world and its Southern scientists are now at the centre of the global SRM conversation.  

We hope that the Socio-Political Fund will now do the same for the social sciences. As with the modelling grants, the teams were selected by an independent grant committee following an open call for proposals and expert peer review. They chose their own research topics and methods and Degrees will now support them to conduct their research, attend conferences and publish papers, and take their place in the global conversation around SRM.

Andy

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Argentina  
PI: Dr Florencia Luna
Host institution: Latin American University of Social Sciences (FLACSO)
Title: Exploring the ethical implications of SRM for health justice in the Global South  
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/argentina-luna     

Bangladesh
PI: Prof. Md. Sadique Rahman
Host institution: Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University
Title: Public perceptions of SRM in a climate-vulnerable South Asian country
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/bangladesh-2024-rahman/    

Brazil
PI: Prof. Julia Silvia Guivant
Host institution: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Title: Challenges on solar radiation management: perspectives from Brazil
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/brazil-2024-guivant  

Brazil  
PI: Prof. Mauricio Uriona Maldonado
Host institution: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Title: Developing an integrated climate-economy stakeholder-based model for assessing the future implications of SRM in Brazil, India and South Africa
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/brazil-2024-maldonado    

Ghana
PI: Dr Portia Adade Williams
Host institution: CSIR - Science and Technology Policy Research Institute
Title: Assessing knowledge, governance and social implications of SRM across Africa  
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/ghana-2024-williams/    

India
PI: Dr Manish Kumar Shrivastava
Host institution: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi
Title: Exploring Asian perspectives on the governance of solar radiation modification
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/india-2024-shrivastava  

Mexico
PI: Dr Francisco Estrada Porrua
Host institution: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Title: Assessing the economic risks and benefits of SRM for Latin America
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/mexico-2024-porrua  

Pakistan
PI: Prof. Athar Hussain
Host institution: COMSATS University Islamabad
Title: Understanding the Socio-Political Dimensions of Climate Change and Solar Radiation Modification in the Health Sector: A Pilot Demonstration in Pakistan
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/pakistan-2024-hussain2  

Philippines
PI: Dr Lorena Sabino
Host institution: University of the Philippines Los Baños
Title: ECLIPSE (Exploring Cultural, Legal, and Intergenerational Perspectives on Solar Radiation Modification Ethics) – a study on vulnerable ridge-to-reef communities and national-level context in the Philippines, in collaboration with Ghana.
Page link: https://www.degrees.ngo/research-funds/projects/philippines-2024-sabino/    

[Oliver Morton]

Just want to say that this is very cool and that the trustees at the Degrees Initiative are chuffed beyond measure to see the team's efforts expanding in this way