Climate Vulnerable Nations Reject US-led Push for Solar Geoengineering at UNEA-6 - Center for International Environmental Law

[H simmens]

This press release by CIEL, an NGO that has long been perhaps the most implacable opponent of direct climate cooling, indicates that the effort by Switzerland to establish an expert science group 

on SRM at the United Nations Environment Assembly meeting in Nairobi this week failed because of  opposition from the Pacific island states, the EU, and countries from Africa and Latin America. 

Support for Switzerland was voiced by the US, Saudi Arabia, Japan and smaller countries such as Monaco (a very small country!) Georgia and Israel. 

Interestingly a previous attempt to create a similar entity a few years back was opposed by the United States when Trump was president and Saudi Arabia demonstrates how the politics of cooling is shifting in perhaps unpredictable ways. 

The outcome also demonstrated the limited ability of the United States, particularly in the absence of support from the EU to influence support for this initiative. 

If anyone comes across articles from more neutral observers or traditional journalists please circulate. 

This disappointing outcome simply reinforces the position that I and others hold that progress towards actualizing cooling will remain difficult not impossible to achieve in the absence of a well resourced international non-governmental organization whose primary mission is to demonstrate to world leaders and the public that safe and effective cooling is essential to avoid planetary dystopia. 

Let’s hope that there are individuals and institutions with influence and resources who are working behind the scenes to establish such an entity. 

With the next round of IPCC reports not due till near the end of the decade and the proposed special reports not focused on cooling it’s unlikely that any authoritative international scientific assessment in support of cooling will occur anytime soon. 

It’s unclear what if anything would need to happen for these same countries that opposed Switzerland this week to turn around and embrace cooling at November’s COP in Baku. 

Perhaps the inevitable avalanche of unprecedented extreme weather across the globe in the coming months will open the eyes of world leaders that ERA - emission reductions alone - is no longer a viable option to save their countries from ruin. 

Herb

https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-response-to-geoengineering-srm-technology-rejection-unea-6/

Herb Simmens
Author of A Climate Vocabulary of the Future

“A SciencePoem and an Inspiration.” Kim Stanley Robinson
@herbsimmens
HerbSimmens.com

[Geoengineering News]

Safety fears stall U.N. bid to examine sun-blocking climate change tech

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/safety-fears-stall-un-bid-examine-sun-blocking-climate-change-tech-2024-02-29/

By Aaron Ross

29 February 2024

NAIROBI, Feb 29 (Reuters) - U.N. delegates on Thursday withdrew a motion calling for more research into technologies that aim to fight climate change by reflecting the sun's rays back into space, amid concerns about health and environmental risks.

Some who opposed the draft resolution at the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) were also worried that the use of solar radiation modification (SRM) might let big polluters off the hook, organisations watching the debate said.

Switzerland and Monaco first tabled the resolution on examining the geoengineering technology in December and it was discussed during this week's assembly in Nairobi.

The original version called for the convening of an expert group that would produce a report examining SRM's possible applications, risks and ethical considerations.

One of the best known proposals for using it involves blasting sulphur dioxide - a coolant - into the higher reaches of the atmosphere.

There are only a handful of small SRM projects in operation. Some scientists say SRM could be made available when necessary to avert climate tipping points.

Critics are worried about possible impacts on weather patterns and agriculture, especially in poorer countries. They also fear SRM could serve as an excuse to delay cutbacks on greenhouse gas emissions.

After going through six revisions over the past two weeks, the resolution was withdrawn on Thursday.

Robin Poëll, a spokesperson for Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment, said countries disagreed on how to facilitate better access to information on SRM and "if the gathering of information should only focus on risk and uncertainties or could as well include potential benefits".

"We regret that UNEA couldn’t come to a conclusion on this important matter. However, the discussions have been informative and useful and we managed to start a global conversation about this important topic," he said.

Ali Mohamed, Kenya's climate envoy, said African countries opposed the resolution.

"The science is very, very nascent, and the risks are unknown," he said. "At this stage, there are many solutions to the regulation of greenhouse gases."

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said the European Union, Pacific Island states, Colombia and Mexico also came out against the resolution.

"These technologies cannot tackle the root causes of the climate crisis and would instead enable major polluters to delay the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels," Mary Church, Senior Geoengineering Campaigner at CIEL, said.

Source: Reuters

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