Under what conditions might solar climate interventions be tested?

The Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland is involved in a coordination and support action that will suggest guidelines to support decision-making on research into climate intervention methods by experimental field studies. Funding was awarded by the European Commission’s Horizon Programme.

Recent observations show that the world is warming
rapidly, and the 1.5°C limit that the Paris Agreement is aiming to limit global
warming to, is expected to be exceeded by the end of the decade. The Arctic is
critical to the well-being of the Earth’s climate, and is warming far faster than
the rest of the planet. Thawing of sea ice, permafrost and the ice sheets mean that
many scientists are now focused on ways that these elements might be preserved.
Scientists are examining climate intervention methods as potential temporary
measures to avoid the most severe impacts until efficient climate change mitigation
by greenhouse gas emissions take effect.

Solar
radiation modification (SRM) is a group of climate intervention techniques that aim
to increase the Earth’s reflectivity in order to keep the rise in global
temperature temporarily at bay. Methods to reflect sunlight, or increase the
Earth’s reflectivity (albedo), include spreading reflective aerosols to the
upper atmosphere (Stratospheric Aerosol Injection SAI) and marine cloud brightening
(MCB).

Illustration: Elina
Pätsi.

Mitigation of GHG emissions, including
ultimately transitioning away from fossil fuels, is the primary solution to climate
change. But SRM may be needed to avoid dangerous climate system tipping points such
as irreversible thawing in the Arctic. Before that occurs, it would be prudent to
test SRM performance and capabilities, and lower the chance of problematic outcomes,
such as unsanctioned deployment. But it is not clear what conditions and governance
arrangements are suitable for experimental SRM research to be conducted responsibly,
says research professor John Moore from the Arctic Centre of the University of
Lapland.

Ethical viewpoints of climate intervention
research, including field tests, under consideration

The interdisciplinary Co-CREATE project seeks to help structure this
decision problem through co-creative scoping, analysis, and engagement for the
development of principles and guidelines including ethical, justice, and public
acceptability considerations. The project will propose guidelines and principles to
facilitate decision-making by the relevant authorities on broader categories of
experimental research of SRM as well as case-by-case decisions.

The Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland will play a key
role in several aspects of the project, and in particular in the Arctic case study
that runs through the project. Research Professors John
Moore and Timo Koivurova and
researcher Ilona Mettiäinen are involved in the
project. Moore is a glaciologist and climate scientist, Koivurova a legal scholar,
and Mettiäinen an environmental social scientist.

– Co-CREATE
focuses on the conditions for the acceptability of field studies on sunlight
reflection methods from many angles. The project produces guidelines for governance
of responsible SRM research including field studies, says researcher Ilona
Mettiäinen. 

The Co-CREATE project is implemented by a
large European consortium led by Perspectives Climate Research from Germany. The
consortium includes partners from Finland, Germany, the UK, Italy, France, the
Netherlands, Ireland and Poland.

This project has received
funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme
under grant agreement 10113764. The total budget of the project is around €3 million
for the period 2024–2026, of which the University of Lapland’s contribution is
over €264 000.

More
information:

Researcher Ilona
Mettiäinen 
firstname.surname@ulapland.fi