THINK GLOBALLY, GOVERN LOCALLY: DESIGNING A NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM ON NEAR-TERM CLIMATE RISKS AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS

[Geoeng Info]

https://www.c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2021/04/Think-Globally-Govern-Locally-Designing-a-National-Research-Program.pdf

THINK GLOBALLY, GOVERN LOCALLY: DESIGNING A NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM ON NEAR-TERM CLIMATE RISKS AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS

Daniel Bodansky, Arizona State University Kelly Wanser, SilverLining 

ABSTRACT

There is growing concern that the global response to climate change will be inadequate to avoid an unsafe climate. Current climate policy focuses on decarbonizing the global economy. This approach, although essential for climate safety, will not slow warming fast enough to address near-term climate risks. Research is therefore urgently needed to better understand these risks as well as the feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of possibly responses, including those that leverage earth system processes to reduce warming, such as increasing the reflection of sunlight from the atmosphere, or solar climate intervention (SCI). While not endorsing or promoting the use of SCI, C2ES and SilverLining support expanding the knowledge base necessary to move toward the effective governance of SCI interventions in a manner that takes into account the safety of both the climate system and potential climate interventions, is science-based, and promotes cooperative international decision-making. This paper is the third in a series exploring considerations and practical options for effective international cooperation and decision-making. The objective of the series is to explore considerations and develop practical possibilities for effective international cooperation and decision-making that engages the social justice issues and impacted communities. The first1 and second2 papers examined the ability of existing international bodies to evaluate and govern SCI and explored the nature of the research required to support science-based decision-making. This paper argues for the establishment of a national research program on near-term climate risks and possible responses and outlines the elements of a model program aimed at providing information in a timely, safe, and open manner to allow for evaluation by policymakers and the public. A well-designed national research program could serve as a model for other national and international research programs and help provide information necessary for effective international governance. It uses the United States context as an example, since the United States has the sophisticated research capabilities necessary to explore near-term climate risks and interventions. The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently published two related reports, one on a national agenda for climate research that emphasizes risk management3 and one on research and governance for SCI that recommends a robust U.S. research program.4 The model national research program described in this paper complements the recommendations from both NASEM reports