Solar Geoengineering Reading Group

Date: 

Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Location: 

Geological Museum 418, 26 Oxford St. Cambridge, MA

A weekly reading group, interspersed with more formal seminars, to deepen members’ understanding of solar geoengineering research. Lunch provided. RSVP to Lizzie Burns: eburns [at] g.harvard.edu.

On December 5th, Pete Irvine will discuss Florian Rabitz's 2018 publication, “Governing the termination problem in solar radiation management.”

Abstract: Technologies for Solar Radiation Management (SRM) could limit global warming by manipulating the Earth’s radiation balance. A major objection to SRM is the termination problem: the catastrophic consequences that are likely to result from its sudden discontinuation. The termination problem limits the reversibility of policy choices and poses the risk of inadvertent or enforced program collapse. It is often considered a major impediment to the governability of SRM. In a first attempt to systematically engage with the question of institutional design for resolving the termination problem, the scenarios in which the termination problem arises as well as their respective drivers are identified. Scenarios and drivers are then used to derive institutional solutions in the form of excludable benefits, scientific oversight and phase-out mechanisms. While other objections to SRM may remain valid, it is concluded that the termination problem raises fewer challenges for international governance than is usually assumed.

See also: General Events