Fwd: Co-CREATE: Newsletter #1
Ron Baiman
Begin forwarded message:
From: Barbara Sneath <bjsn...@meer.org>
Date: July 11, 2024 at 6:59:33 PM EDT
To: Ron Baiman <rpba...@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd: Co-CREATE: Newsletter #1
Dear Ron,For the information of HPAC members.Best wishes,Barbara---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Co-CREATE <ad...@climatestrategies.org>
Date: Thu, Jul 11, 2024 at 7:17 AM
Subject: Co-CREATE: Newsletter #1
To: <bjsn...@meer.org>
Co-CREATE Newsletter: Issue #1
A word from the Project Coordinator
Dear readers,
You are receiving this newsletter because you indicated interest in the Co-CREATE project. As you might know, Co-CREATE is a Horizon Europe coordination and support action, co-funded by UKRI, which examines conditions for responsible research on Solar Radiation Modification (SRM).
You likely know what the term SRM stands for, but just in case, here is a mini explainer:
SRM technologies aim to limit global warming and its impacts by reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface - reflecting sunlight or increasing how much heat escapes back into space. One example of SRM is Stratospheric Aerosol Injection which involves releasing particles into the upper atmosphere. Other examples enhance clouds’ reflectivity or reflect at the earth’s surface.
Views on SRM research are diverse, and conversations can be contentious. Some are concerned that research and development of SRM would distract from vital efforts to reduce emissions. Others view SRM as a potential opportunity to limit heating, avoid dangerous ecological tipping points, and protect humanity from the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Many remain undecided, but see a need to study risks, uncertainties and potential benefits.
Co-CREATE aims to clarify whether, and under which conditions and governance arrangements, SRM research – including field tests – may be desirable for reducing uncertainties and lowering the probability of problematic outcomes, including unilateral deployment elsewhere. Co-CREATE seeks to help structure this decision problem through co-creative scoping, analysis, and engagement for the development of principles and guidelines.
In this first iteration of the newsletter, we aim to give you an overview of the project scope and approach. We will walk you through the project via its 8 Work Packages. The coordination and management of the project is led by Perspectives Climate Research as part of Work Package 1 (WP1), to ensure cohesive and effective implementation.
Regards,
Matthias Honegger
Head of Carbon Dioxide Removals Research
Perspectives Climate Research
Upcoming Events and Publications
UPCOMING PUBLICATION: Scoping note on applicable legal frameworks and their implications for the permissibility of SRM research, focusing primarily on international and EU legal frameworks.
This scoping note by WP2 will provide a stocktake of the current legal landscape for SRM research, delving into its governance implications at the international and EU levels for future potential SRM research.
UPCOMING CONFERENCE: 2025 Degrees Global Forum (Cape Town, South Africa; May 2025)
Members of the Co-CREATE Consortium are expected to participate in the 2025 Degrees Global Forum, taking place from 12-16th May 2025 in Cape Town (South Africa). The conference will gather hundreds of researchers, NGO representatives, policymakers, thought leaders, and journalists from around the world. It will provide a much-needed space to discuss the scientific, social, and political dimensions of SRM and emphasise the Global South in SRM dialogues. For upcoming announcements about the 2025 Degrees Global Forum, please visit Degree’s mailing list or social media.
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Climate Engineering Researcher (CDR/SRM) position, at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Co-CREATE partner CMCC is encouraging applications by researchers interested in modelling and assessing the implications of climate engineering interventions - specifically either Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) or Solar Radiation Management (SRM) - as possible additional strategies to conventional mitigation ones. CMCC has a portfolio of international research projects on both removing CO2 and CH4 (e.g. UPTAKE, REPAIR), and on assessing Solar Radiation Modification (e.g. CO-CREATE, RFF). CMCC is looking for one to two candidates to work on either research strand, or possibly combine them. They are interested in the integration of all key aspects of climate engineering, from the technical side to its socio-economic repercussions and governance.
Apply here
Updates from each Work Package
Work Package 2 (WP2): Scoping current knowledge of SRM and clarifying types of research including experiments
SRM field experiments could take various forms and carry different legal, ethical, and governance implications. To help navigate this complex landscape, WP2 will produce concise and accessible summaries of the main SRM methods and explore case studies for SRM field experiments. The team will conduct a review of previous SRM field experiments, and contact research groups around the world to identify plans for future experiments. This information will be used to develop a small set of realistic yet fictional SRM case studies, collectively illustrating the diverse issues entailed by SRM field experiments. These cases will provide a common reference point for the research of other Co-CREATE Work Packages – and serve as a testing ground for the SRM research governance proposals that will be eventually developed by the project.
WP2 will also scope existing legal frameworks at the international and EU level that are relevant for SRM research governance. Whilst few legal frameworks explicitly address SRM today, there are many relevant laws on environmental protection as well as on human rights, particularly the rights of indigenous people. Furthermore, some legal frameworks may be triggered by the location of SRM research and of its potential impacts. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for instance, contains location-specific provisions on the governance of activities in the high seas; similarly, research in the Arctic and Antarctica may be regulated by provisions under polar law.
WP2 is getting underway, with Ben Redmond Roche just having joined Pete Irvine at UCL for an 18-month post-doc. Some progress has been made already: Pete Irvine presented the approach and a preliminary list of their potential issues at the Gordon Research Conference on Climate Engineering (Italy, February 2024), which was well-received by the researchers. A Technical Workshop on SRM Field Experiments will be held in September at UCL (London) with several leading SRM experts confirmed to contribute.
Work Package (WP3): Clarifying technical and scientific dimensions of SRM research
So far, the limited research and public deliberation has not allowed us to state with high confidence the exact risks, uncertainties, and potential benefits of SRM deployment nor field experiments. The development of detection and monitoring systems for SRM research will be crucial for controlling SRM experiments and ensuring their shutdown in case of unwanted serious impacts. For example, this could mean that the experiment should have built-in exit ramps allowing for a controlled shutdown before any irreversible environmental impacts occur.
Based on Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, WP3 will study how SRM outdoor experiments are different from deployment - and propose definitions for their delineation. This delineation can vary between SRM techniques – such as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB), or Cirrus Cloud Thinning. One difference is that the associated atmospheric processes have different timescales (days in the case of MCB, a couple of years for SAI).
WP3 will also explore possibilities for monitoring so that experiments remain within the limits of experimentation and their climate effects can be detected. The possibilities of attributing detected effects to experiments (versus other causes including variability of the climate and weather events) will also be investigated. This will help understand whether attribution of experiment results and (un-)intended outcomes is possible with current means and at what levels of uncertainties. Besides ensuring avoidance of bad outcomes, this will help evaluate the scientific merit and usefulness of potential experiments.
WP3 will review proposed and existing experimental SRM research and natural analogues of SRM (e.g., volcanic eruptions and changes in clouds), evaluate current monitoring capabilities with satellites and ground-based instruments, and explore potential new methods. Climate models will help predict how small changes in the atmospheric parameters can be detected and monitored and where the limits might be. WP3 will engage with experts, starting with WP2’s Technical Workshop.
Work Package 4 (WP4): Toward a strong legal and ethical basis for decisions on SRM research
Few legal frameworks explicitly address SRM today, though many are likely to apply to SRM research activities. Moreover, current ethics frameworks and codes of conduct may not adequately address the specific environmental, social, and political risks raised by SRM research. Furthermore, regions such as the Arctic may entail distinct legal and ethical considerations due to historic injustices, indigenous rightsholders and complex geopolitical situations.
WP4 will delve into an in-depth analysis of the legal, ethical, and governance dimensions of SRM research and field testing. It will build on the legal scoping and case studies of WP2 which will highlight the regulatory challenges of applying existing legal frameworks to SRM research governance. Defining SRM, and delineating the difference between SRM research and deployment, is an important challenge also from a legal perspective. So is the interpretation of laws, legal principles, and rights. Some principles have already been proposed as applicable to SRM research including the precautionary principle or the no-harm rule under international law.
Research ethics also offers important orientation. Existing practices in research ethics may be applicable to SRM research yet they may also require adaptations to fit the particularities of SRM research – especially when involving field tests. WP4 will thus review research ethics frameworks and identify potential measures to ensure they fit the challenges posed by SRM research ethics including procedural justice and expectations of information and broad-based participation where applicable.
The work on pertinent legal and ethical dimensions will be informed through interactions with stakeholders, practitioners and experts.
Work Package 5 (WP5): Towards a SRM research governance framework.
Decision-makers today are to make sense of a growing body of evidence on SRM research (including on uncertainties, risks, trade-offs, and synergies), while balancing broader policy priorities. Work Package 5 is devoted to developing decision-support that structures this complexity – including through a multi-criteria risk assessment approach.
WP5 draws parallels between SRM research and research on other risky technologies (e.g., novel vaccines, nuclear power, artificial intelligence). Lessons learned from managing these inform the development of a framework for assessing the potential benefits and risks of SRM research, considering both quantifiable and non-quantifiable uncertainties. Stakeholder input will help identify pertinent analogues and historical examples of public support or rejection of controversial research.
WP5 will also examine the contested question of integrating SRM in socioeconomic and climate change scenarios and identify risks and boundary conditions of such integration. This will help showcase how the conduct of computer-based SRM research holds performative power even in the absence of any physical effects. We will seek to find guardrails and practices that might prevent potential biases and enable the balanced and effective communication of model-based research findings to publics and policymakers.
Finally, WP5 will examine interest-structures involved in SRM research. This will help define guardrails that prevent certain SRM research interests from unduly taking over. WP5 will also explore the role of public and private actors and how research design itself can influence public perception and political support. Overall, WP5 seeks to help ensure that any guardrails recommended by Co-CREATE are fit for purpose.
Work Package 6 (WP6): Enabling responsive innovation and co-creative stakeholder engagement
The Co-CREATE project seeks to anchor its work in a diversity of voices, cultural contexts, and value-systems. Pluralism and exchange will be crucial to overcome the problems of contending interests and uncertainties surrounding SRM research.
Stakeholder engagement is vital to help determine how SRM research could – and should – be governed. With few exceptions, proposed governance regimes for SRM research have, so far, come from scientific experts interpreting or speaking on behalf of wider society.
Building on Horizon Europe’s operational objective to promote Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), WP6 seeks to anticipate the impacts of SRM research and reflect on its different framings through an inclusive two-way dialogue process, engaging with diverse stakeholders across the European continent and beyond: scientific experts, government officials, technology developers, civil society representatives, and members of the public. In doing so, WP6 seeks to elicit diverse societal perceptions and preferences for SRM research governance and help redress the legitimacy gap of previous proposals for governance regimes. The findings will then inform the project’s overall objective to develop a socially robust governance framework for SRM.
WP6 subsumes three interrelated workstreams:
The first will begin with semi-structured interviews with experts and stakeholders from across academia, government, business, and civil society, to elicit factors affecting SRM governance and understand stakeholders’ perceptions and preferences for idealised SRM governance models.
The second workstream will involve a series of deliberative workshops with members of the public around the world, helping explore citizen perceptions and preferences for governance models.
The third workstream will develop an international citizen survey (spanning several countries) to present for evaluation the idealised governance models elicited through the other workstreams.
Work Package 7 (WP7): Developing a set of principles and guidelines for SRM research governance
WP7 will bring together the work of previous WPs - the scoping of experimental SRM research proposals, the development of evaluation frameworks, and findings from stakeholder engagements – to formulate a set of potential guidelines and principles for SRM research governance. All the above will be synthesized into a comprehensive project report. The report and accompanying briefings will cover the project’s findings and recommendations in an engaging format for European decisionmakers, including in research funding and regulatory agencies.
The objective of Co-CREATE’s plural approach, synthesized by this Work Package, is to showcase the breadth of knowledge and diversity of values that decision makers ought to consider on the matter of SRM research governance. The project synthesises analytical frameworks (to structure thinking of the problem) and principles and guidelines (to structure the decision-process). Instead of optimizing for a singular objective, this exercise will integrate across disciplines and value-systems.
Work Package 8 (WP8): Bolstering inclusive dialogues on SRM research governance
The Co-CREATE project not only consults with experts, stakeholders, and rightsholders - including marginalised and affected communities, such as indigenous peoples in the Arctic and the Global South - but also seeks to communicate and disseminate widely. WP8 seeks to orient project activities towards this wide range of audiences and, ultimately, help advance a global dialogue on SRM research governance.
There are various ways to get involved in the Co-CREATE Project. We have now established several Co-CREATE communication channels where you can receive regular updates on project activities as well as upcoming publications and events.
For the latest Co-CREATE news, you can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Co-CREATE Stakeholder Forum is a platform where diverse individuals and parties can connect and exchange their thoughts on SRM research governance. Through the creation of this space, Co-CREATE seeks to foster a broad and inclusive community of practice that further advances the current dialogue on this matter.
By joining the virtual hub of the Co-CREATE Stakeholder Forum, you will be able to enter this space and engage with a diversity of perspectives on SRM research governance. You will be the first to hear of Co-CREATE events and publications and gain access to forum-specific activities and events. Forum members can also exchange publications and share upcoming events related to this topic, making this a useful hub to receive the latest news from across this field of research.
Join the Virtual Forum here
Funding acknowledgements
Grant agreement No. GAP-101137642
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