Field tests of solar climate engineering (original) (raw)

Nature Climate Change volume 3, page 766 (2013) Cite this article

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To the Editor —

The international community has declared climate change a 'common concern of humankind'[1](/articles/nclimate1987#ref-CR1 "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN, 1992); available via http://go.nature.com/2zFXqi

            "),[2](/articles/nclimate1987#ref-CR2 "United Nations General Assembly Resolution 43/53 (UN, 1988); available via 
              http://go.nature.com/cIG7ZQ
              
            "). Therefore, the development of 'climate engineering' (also known as geoengineering) techniques that aim to modify the global climate requires international cooperation on their governance. Some CO2 removal technologies — such as ocean fertilization, which aims to stimulate primary production by adding iron or other nutrients to surface waters to draw down additional CO2 — have already moved to the field-test stage and are being addressed under international law. However, governance for possible future testing of solar climate engineering technologies that attempt to block incoming sunlight is inadequate at present. Nonetheless, several proposals have recently been put forward that call for field testing of these technologies soon[3](/articles/nclimate1987#ref-CR3 "Morgan, G. M., Nordhaus, R. R. & Gottlieb, P. Issues Sci. Technol. 37–44 (Spring 2013)."),[4](/articles/nclimate1987#ref-CR4 "Parson, E. A. & Keith, D. W. Science 339, 1278–1279 (2013)."),[5](/articles/nclimate1987#ref-CR5 "Victor, D. G., Morgan, M. G., Apt, J., Steinbruner, J. & Ricke, K. L. The truth about geoengineering. Foreign Affairs (March 27 2013)."). All of these proposals acknowledge a need for some form of governance, such as national oversight by funding bodies, but they also share a common supposition that small-scale testing should proceed even in the absence of further international agreement. However, there are strong reasons to refrain from such testing until some form of international cooperation on climate engineering has been established.

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References

  1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN, 1992); available via http://go.nature.com/2zFXqi
  2. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 43/53 (UN, 1988); available via http://go.nature.com/cIG7ZQ
  3. Morgan, G. M., Nordhaus, R. R. & Gottlieb, P. Issues Sci. Technol. 37–44 (Spring 2013).
  4. Parson, E. A. & Keith, D. W. Science 339, 1278–1279 (2013).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  5. Victor, D. G., Morgan, M. G., Apt, J., Steinbruner, J. & Ricke, K. L. The truth about geoengineering. Foreign Affairs (March 27 2013).
  6. http://www.cbd.int
  7. http://go.nature.com/1D6rpi

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Sustainable Interactions With the Atmosphere, Berliner Strasse 130, Potsdam, 14467, Germany
    Stefan Schäfer, Peter J. Irvine, Anna-Maria Hubert, David Reichwein, Sean Low, Harald Stelzer, Achim Maas & Mark G. Lawrence

Authors

  1. Stefan Schäfer
  2. Peter J. Irvine
  3. Anna-Maria Hubert
  4. David Reichwein
  5. Sean Low
  6. Harald Stelzer
  7. Achim Maas
  8. Mark G. Lawrence

Corresponding author

Correspondence toStefan Schäfer.

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Schäfer, S., Irvine, P., Hubert, AM. et al. Field tests of solar climate engineering.Nature Clim Change 3, 766 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1987

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