Book Reviews The governance of solar geoengineering:

[Andrew Lockley]

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KXUNMV6BG9H6HQJ9AG5Q/full?target=10.1080%2F18366503.2020.1732274&

Book Reviews

The governance of solar geoengineering: managing climate change in the anthropocene

by Jesse L. Reynolds, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2019, 250 pp., $144.7 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-10716-195-5, $56.46 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-31661-413-6

Manon SimonORCID Icon &Jeffrey McGeeORCID Icon

Published online: 28 Feb 2020

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https://doi.org/10.1080/18366503.2020.1732274

How can we avoid some of the most deleterious effects of climate change while ensuring that responses do not leave the planet worse off? This is the overarching question that Reynolds invites us to consider in this new book. The book focuses on the controversial issue of ‘geoengineering’,1 also known as, ‘climate engineering’,2 a set of technologies proposed to offset the effects of climate change through large-scale human intervention in the climate system. ‘Solar radiation management’,3 which Reynolds refers to as ‘solar geoengineering’,4 is one type of climate engineering proposal which aims to increase the earth’s reflectivity and thereby reduce global warming.

The most well-known and controversial solar engineering proposal, stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), involves releasing minute particles into the stratosphere to reduce a small amount of incoming solar radiation. A program at Harvard University is currently planning a small outdoor field test involving the release of calcium carbonate particles (i.e. about 1 kg) into the stratosphere to better understand the potential of SAI.5 Other solar geoengineering proposals include marine cloud brightening, which is proposed to shade the Great Barrier Reef during extreme heat events, for instance,6 and the use of reflective particles to increase the longevity of sea ice.7 Many of these proposed interventions significantly involve either use of the oceans, or carry risk of harm to the marine environment. This has sparked a recent science assessment of marine geoengineering proposals by the International Maritime Organization8 and a report on legal and governance issues from the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada.9

In the introductory chapters 1 to 3, Reynolds opens the book by drawing a clear and comprehensive picture of the implications of climate change for humanity and the natural environment and the risks and benefits of climate intervention. Through the lens of institutionalist theory, Reynolds argues that the conventional policy responses to climate change – emission abatement and adaptation – will likely continue to be insufficient. He argues that solar geoengineering should therefore be researched to provide another policy option to protect ecosystems and human societies from the impacts of global warming – along with carbon dioxide removal technologies, which propose removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at large scale and storing it in the land and/or oceans. In chapter 2, Reynolds provides a useful overview of key solar geoengineering proposals, including stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, space-based reflectors, surface-based reflective techniques and cirrus cloud thinning. This material will be very helpful for readers unfamiliar with the key scientific proposals on solar geoengineering.

Reynolds argues that solar geoengineering has the potential to be a ‘feasible’, ‘inexpensive’ and ‘reversible’ means to tackle the effects of climate change (31). However, he warns of the potentially severe consequences of poor governance of solar geoengineering on the climate and other natural systems, including uneven distribution of climatic risks, increasing impacts of greenhouse gas concentrations on ecosystems and the inherent risks of ozone depletion and ocean acidification. He also cautions against social and governance challenges of solar geoengineering, in particular the thorny issue of: ‘[w]ho decides whether, when, and how solar geoengineering might be implemented’ (28), as well as risk of termination shock (i.e. a spike in global temperature if SRM is stopped) and path dependencies (i.e. research on solar geoengineering might lock in a path to implementation). Reynolds invites us to consider closely the governance (both legal and non-legal) of solar geoengineering proposals before any field testing takes place that might harm the environment.

In chapter 3, devoted to what Reynolds calls the ‘emissions abatement displacement concern’, he considers the ongoing debate on the ‘moral hazard’ of solar geoengineering. ‘Moral hazard’ is a term used to describe the concern that proposals for solar geoengineering might undermine societies’ efforts at emission abatement. Reynolds argues that the moral hazard concern might be avoided if decisions on solar geoengineering are made with careful consideration of stakeholder interests (both current and future) and ‘in ways that are expected to improve human well-being and foster sustainability’ (46). Taking into consideration the diversity of views on climate change within the current political landscape in the West, Reynolds’ approach has capacity to transcend long-lasting divisions between environmentalists and groups less engaged with climate change.

In chapters 4 to 8, Reynolds presents the implications of solar geoengineering for international relations and how various international rules and norms might influence state behaviour. Unlike most studies on the topic, he analyses the potential role of the international organisations, such as the UN Environment (former United Nations Environmental Program) and the World Meteorological Organisation in governing solar geoengineering. Interestingly, in addition to the three agreements that are most relevant to solar geoengineering – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992, the Ozone Convention 1985 and the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution 1979 – he also analyses the International Law Commission Draft Guidelines of the Protection of the Atmosphere. He argues that the development of an ‘international environmental law of the atmosphere’ could contribute to the governance of solar geoengineering (92).

Reynolds dedicates Chapter 7 to international human rights issues, where his analysis of the human rights to scientific research and experimentation is particularly interesting. He finds that, although scientists enjoy a certain freedom of scientific research, research in solar geoengineering should ‘fairly distribute the benefits and burdens and neither exacerbate existing inequities, create new ones, nor take advantage of vulnerable groups’ (111). Finally, he reviews several relevant multilateral instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 and the Convention on Prohibition of Military Uses of Environmental Modification Techniques 1976. He presents these international agreements as foundations for the development of ‘future norms, rules, procedures, and institutions’ for solar geoengineering (137).

In chapter 9, Reynolds shifts the focus to domestic law. Considering the limited number of studies addressing domestic governance of geoengineering, his analysis of US law relevant to solar geoengineering is both important and timely. Reynolds analyses solar engineering through the fragmented lens of the US environmental law system. He examines the potential relevance of US federal legislation, such as the US Clean Air Act 1963, the National Environmental Policy Act 1969 and weather modification laws, such as the Weather Modification Reporting Act 1972. Reynolds concludes with an analysis of the (unsuccessful) 2017 bills presented to the US Congress for a Geoengineering Research Evaluation Act, which sought to provide a research agenda and proposed governance mechanisms for solar geoengineering. This chapter has the merit of a detailed and extensive analysis of US law; however, it might have benefitted from some comparative analysis of governance in other jurisdictions. For instance, it might have been interesting to include a comparison of United Kingdom domestic law, which funded the (aborted) Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) field test project planned for 2011.10 Australian law might have also provided an interesting point of comparison. Australia has already considered small-scale geoengineering projects11and has a long history of cloud seeding practice and governance that might be relevant to solar geoengineering.

Reynolds also provides an in-depth analysis of non-state governance of solar geoengineering where he argues that, provided it is legitimate and transparent, non-state governance could be more efficient and responsive than state governance. He examines the role that non-state actors play in governance through social pressure and market mechanisms, including the private sector, non-governmental organisations, academia and the public. Reynolds shows that non-state principles and codes of conduct have already influenced governance of solar geoengineering. For example, the Oxford Principles, developed by the Oxford Geoengineering Program, were later endorsed by the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.12 Reynolds invites ‘research institutions, professional societies, nonstate funders, and academic publishers for solar geoengineering research to proceed responsibly’ in enforcing governance through private regulation (163).

In chapter 11, Reynolds examines the role of commercial actors and the difficulties for national policies to govern transnational research specific to solar geoengineering. He argues that intellectual property policies would be beneficial for the governance of solar geoengineering and proposes a fourth-part approach that includes data transparency, a pledge community, patent monitoring and clear criteria concerning the use of licensing requirements. Reynolds’ analysis on intellectual property law and solar geoengineering adds significant breadth to the book. Yet, it could be complemented by a detailed analysis of the role of NGOs in public interest litigation, and the public, through direct representation and participation.

Last, but not least, in chapter 12, Reynolds considers the important issue of international liability and compensation for damage caused by solar geoengineering. He proposes a multilateral agreement establishing a compensation fund, run by an international administration, and from which the contributing Parties could claim damages for harm resulting from solar geoengineering research or deployment. He argues that implementing a liability scheme would be inappropriate in most cases, but that administrative compensation mechanisms remain the best option to manage international tensions over solar geoengineering activities. He concludes the discussion with a call for further governance in both research and implementation of solar geoengineering techniques. He notably proposes an intergovernmental institution, the ‘Solar Geoengineering Organization’ (SGO) to facilitate and ensure responsible research, prevent premature deployment, foster international trust and minimise the emissions abatement displacement.

In summary, Reynold’s book is an important and timely contribution to the literature of solar engineering law and governance. His book delivers two essential messages: that, in face of the likely impacts of climate change, policymakers need to take the potential of solar geoengineering proposals seriously, and for these techniques to be conducted responsibly, that governance should be thoughtfully anticipated. It will be of interest to academics, policymakers and experts, proponents and opponents of solar geoengineering. Given many solar geoengineering proposals discussed in the book involve the oceans, the book should be on the reading list of scholars and policymakers interested in the future of marine law and governance.

Notes

1 The Royal Society and Shepherd (2009).

2 Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, n.d., viewed 11 February 2020, <http://ceassessment.org/>.

3 The Royal Society & Shepherd, Geoengineering the Climate.

4 Reynolds (2019).

5 SCoPEx, n.d., viewed 11 February 2020, <https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/keutschgroup/scopex>.

6 McDonald et al. (2019).

7 Ice911 Research, n.d., viewed 11 February 2020, <https://www.ice911.org/>.

8 Boyd and Vivian (2019).

9 Brent, Burns, and McGee (2019).

10 SPICE Project, n.d., viewed 11 February 2020, <http://www.spice.ac.uk/>.

11 Marine Cloud Brightening for the Great Barrier Reef, Marine Cloud Brightening for the Great Barrier Reef, n.d., viewed 13 February 2020, <https://www.savingthegreatbarrierreef.org>.

12 Rayner et al. (2013).

References

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