“Just like we need a unified national response to COVID-19, we need a unified national response to climate change. We need to meet the moment with the urgency it demands as we would during any national emergency.” - President Joe Biden (Dec. 19, 2020)
Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Plan for Climate Change and Environmental Justice
December 21, 2020
Climate change poses near-term risks to safety that are not adequately addressed by measures for reducing greenhouse gases alone. Climate impacts are already causing substantial suffering, with the greatest effects on the most vulnerable members of society. These impacts are projected to escalate, risking "tipping points" for catastrophic changes in the next few decades, before even the most aggressive CO2 mitigation measures would take effect. This dangerous condition demands better monitoring and forecasts than we have today. It also requires exploration of the most promising options for reducing warming rapidly.
To keep people safe and natural systems stable while the world transitions to a carbon-neutral economy, it may be necessary to reduce warming in the next few decades. This requires a climate portfolio that extends beyond CO2 mitigation and removal to address powerful short-lived warming agents and even warming (heat-energy in the earth system) itself.
SilverLining applauds the Biden-Harris administration for its commitment to climate change and environmental justice. We offer our recommendations to aid in that effort.
> International Cooperation:
Rejoin the Paris Agreement, ratify the Kigali Amendment, and reaffirm international commitment to climate safety.
Call for a United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expert meeting on near-term abrupt change risks and rapid climate interventions and a future IPCC Special Report and support assessment of solar climate intervention by the Montreal Protocol Scientific Assessment Panel.
Expand international access to climate models, data sets, and computing to accelerate scientific cooperation, particularly for research on climate intervention, including support for engagement by developing countries in scientific research.
Support international efforts to reduce super-pollutants
> National Security:
Include climate change as part of the National Security portfolio.
Significantly expand DOD climate and weather observation and prediction capabilities to secure infrastructure, fortify operations, and support readiness, including increase collaboration with civilian agencies.
Undertake a strategic assessment of solar climate interventions and large-scale weather modification activities.
> U.S. Domestic Policy:
Substantially increase investments in climate research, including a possible "Operation Warp Speed" for climate prediction, investment in enhanced observations to monitor key systems (e.g., Arctic, hurricanes), evaluation of unplanned climate experiments (e.g. COVID-19, wildfires, and volcanoes) and expansion of computing for climate research.
Establish a national climate intervention research effort to assess the benefits and risks of methods to reduce warming rapidly, including accelerating research in key agencies to inform a comprehensive scientific assessment within 5 years.
In mitigation efforts, prioritize areas with the potential to significantly reduce warming in the next 10-30 years including methane, HFCs, NO2, black carbon and other “super-pollutants”, rapid forms of greenhouse gas removal, and energy efficiency for refrigeration, air-conditioning and computing.
Read more in the full recommendations and two-pager linked below and read a commentary by SilverLining’s Kelly Wanser here.