Pritzker Innovation Fund, Lowercarbon and SilverLining invite you to join a private briefing on considerations for policy and decision-making on the most prominent approach to rapidly reducing warming in climate—increasing the reflection of sunlight from the atmosphere (solar climate intervention), featuring experts in international climate law, Global South engagement, and U.S. policy.

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With record temperatures, changes in natural systems and rising effects on vulnerable populations. this conversation comes at an important time.

The event will feature:

A briefing from Sue Biniaz, previously lead climate attorney and a lead climate negotiator for the U.S. State Department, including for the Paris Agreement, and currently Senior Fellow at the U.N. Foundation and the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and Dan Bodansky, Regents' Professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and author of International Climate Change Law, on their new work, Solar Climate Intervention: Options For International Assessment And Decision-Making, outlining considerations for international cooperation where countries seek an approach that is both cooperative and informed by science.
Dialogue on engagement by the Global South with Ines Camilloni, Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera, Argentina; Eduardo Viola, University of Brasilia and Brazilian Research Network on International Relations and Climate Change; Marcos Regis Da Silva, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), Montevideo; Penehuro Lefale, Director, LeA International; New Zealand; and Andy Parker, Executive Director, SRMGI
Perspectives on U.S. and international policy from U.S. Congressman Jerry McNerney; Ko Barrett, Vice Chair, IPCC and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research, NOAA; and Kelly Wanser, Executive Director, SilverLining
Moderated by Oliver Morton, Editor at The Economist and author of The Planet Remade

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Global warming has reached new records with risks of catastrophic changes within a decade or two. The international response to climate change has been, and may continue to be, inadequate to ensure a safe global climate.

Even if extreme mitigation began immediately, it might not be possible to avoid catastrophic climate change that inflicts major harms. Rapidly reducing carbon emissions must remain our highest priority. However, there is increased interest in exploring various forms of climate intervention (geoengineering), including the potential use of rapid interventions such as solar climate intervention (SCI) to avoid dangerous or abrupt climate change.

Scientific assessments have suggested that different forms of solar climate intervention may have the potential to reduce warming rapidly, and that by increasing the reflectivity of the atmosphere by just 1%, it might be possible to offset the energy equivalent of several degrees of warming globally. Because this is believed to be one of the few ways to cool the climate quickly, it could play a particularly important role in addressing climate tipping points, where rapid action could be required.

Any such interventions would have to be implemented as safely as possible, which raises issues about how these technologies should be assessed and governed. Today, no existing international body is ideally suited to perform both two critical functions: scientific assessment and decision-making.

And while extensive research is required to assess the safety of interventions in the context of the safety of warming climate to inform decision-making, until recently, less than $10m per year globally has been allocated for such research.

Photographs courtesy of Christopher Michel

Policy and Decision-making for Solar Climate Intervention: International and U.S. Perspectives