A special report from the Council on Foreign
Relations (CFR) calls on the U.S. to take major, urgent measures to increase
research and preparations for sunlight reflection, technically called solar radiation management, as a part of the
answer to global warming.
Prepared by Stewart Patrick and released at the
end of April 2022, the CFR report evaluates the existing approaches of
emissions reductions and carbon removal. It finds them insufficient for
preventing enormous warming risks, and likely to remain greatly insufficient
for scientific and practical reasons that would be objectively very difficult
to overcome. It concludes that sunlight reflection will probably be an
indispensable component in preventing dangerous levels of global warming, and
that research and preparations for this need to be greatly accelerated.
Awareness is growing of
the need to proceed on this. In 2021 the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
issued a similar report, recommending to the U.S. government to invest in
upgrading solar geoengineering research.
The CFR report recommends both greatly
accelerated research and testing, and diplomatic and international governance
preparations for carrying out sunlight reflection with global support and
coordination.
"This Council
Special Report builds a compelling case... It is sad that such a report is
necessary, but it will be even sadder still if we do not make exploring the
potential of sunlight reflection an urgent priority.”
-- CFR President Richard Haass
“Sunlight reflection …
could—in light of current warming trends and risk projections—make what is
likely to be a lengthy transition to a decarbonized world tolerable. It is
incumbent on countries to assess the feasibility and wisdom of pursuing this
option and the institutions required to govern its potential deployment…. Given
the stakes, the U.S. government is, at present, severely underinvesting in
areas of science relevant to sunlight reflection.… It would be vastly
preferable for the world to make progress on the science of sunlight reflection
and to discuss its national and international governance openly today, so that
policymakers are prepared to make informed decisions on its potential
deployment tomorrow, rather than being forced to act out of ignorance on the
fly when all other options have failed.”
-- “Reflecting Sunlight to Reduce Climate Risk:
Priorities for Research and International Cooperation”, Council Special Report
No. 93, April 2022. https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/Patrick-CSR93-web.pdf
For the Center for War/Peace Studies (CWPS) initiative to
upgrade work and awareness on sunlight reflection, see https://www.warpeacestudies.org/about-3
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