If you were spraying sea water, it is unlikely that there would be a large 
organic element to it. For practical operation, you would likely pre-filter the 
sea water to control clogging issues. Spray nozzle clogging may seem like a 
trivial issue during design but during actual implementation, it is a much 
larger issue. You will end up filtering to prevent this. 

 

From: Adrian Tuck <adrianft...@gmail.com> 
Sent: 07 November 2022 15:16
To: david.sev...@carbon-cycle.co.uk
Cc: andrew.lock...@gmail.com; ayesha iqbal <ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com>; 
geoengineering <geoengineering@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [geo] Preparing the United States for security and governance in a 
geoengineering future

 

Sea water has a load of organic matter, living and dead. The Hunga-Tunga 
eruption will have injected that way up into the stratosphere, with so far as 
yet unknown and unmodelled consequences. The increase in water vapour has been 
modelled, and is substantial.





On 7 Nov 2022, at 07:57, <david.sev...@carbon-cycle.co.uk 
<mailto:david.sev...@carbon-cycle.co.uk> > <david.sev...@carbon-cycle.co.uk 
<mailto:david.sev...@carbon-cycle.co.uk> > wrote:

 

You may want to define aerosol particles more specifically. I do not think that 
spraying sea water into the high atmosphere will cause ozone depletion (but 
perhaps there is a paper out there that says it does). 

 

 

David Sevier

 

Carbon Cycle Limited

248 Sutton Common Road

Sutton, Surrey SM3 9PW

England

 

Tel 44 (0) 208 288 0128

www.carbon-cycle.co.uk <http://www.carbon-cycle.co.uk/> 

 

 

 

From: geoengineering@googlegroups.com <mailto:geoengineering@googlegroups.com>  
<geoengineering@googlegroups.com <mailto:geoengineering@googlegroups.com> > On 
Behalf Of Andrew Lockley
Sent: 05 November 2022 23:26
To: ayesha iqbal <ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com <mailto:ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com> >
Cc: geoengineering <geoengineering@googlegroups.com 
<mailto:geoengineering@googlegroups.com> >
Subject: Re: [geo] Preparing the United States for security and governance in a 
geoengineering future

 

Just a note to welcome ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com 
<mailto:ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com>  to the list. She's what your money gets 
spent on. We welcome your feedback; the service is for your benefit - not ours. 

 

If you'd like to make a contribution to our costs, use these links for donations

 - Regular http://patreon.com/geoengineering  

 - Single https://gofund.me/da586daa 

 

 

On Sat, 5 Nov 2022, 23:22 ayesha iqbal, <ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com 
<mailto:ayeshaiqbal...@gmail.com> > wrote:

Poster's note: Old, but new to the list.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/preparing-the-united-states-for-security-and-governance-in-a-geoengineering-future/

By:Joseph Versen <https://www.brookings.edu/author/joseph-versen/> , Zaruhi 
Mnatsakanyan <https://www.brookings.edu/author/zaruhi-mnatsakanyan/> , and 
Johannes Urpelainen <https://www.brookings.edu/experts/johannes-urpelainen/>  

Introduction

Imagine the following scenario: it is the year 2035. One large country, dealing 
with major issues of global warming, decides to take extreme action. The 
government begins secret deployment of a geoengineering system for pumping 
large amounts of reflective particles into the air, a technique designed to 
mimic the cooling effect of a volcanic eruption, only on a much larger scale 
and over a much longer time horizon. Although such behavior has been 
discouraged by the international community, research has continued, largely 
behind closed doors and without real regulation. Now that the climate situation 
has become more dire, the country has decided that it can no longer afford to 
wait; they see geoengineering as their only option.

At first, the decision seems wise, as the increase in global temperatures start 
to level off. But soon other types of anomalous weather begin to appear: 
unexpected and severe droughts hit countries around the world, disrupting 
agriculture, and the ozone layer begins to decay rapidly, exposing populations 
to harmful radiation. Global weather has become politicized—delegates argue at 
the United Nations over new climate complications allegedly caused by 
geoengineering, and diplomatic relationships are strained. This new 
geoengineering crisis escalates when another large country, under the 
impression it has been severely harmed by the geoengineering, carries out a 
focused military strike against the geoengineering equipment, a decision 
supported by other nations who also believe they have been negatively impacted. 
This development, however, becomes even more devastating, as once the 
geoengineering stops, global temperatures dramatically rebound to the levels 
they would have reached on their previous trajectory, prior to the use of 
geoengineering. The resulting consequences of such a dramatic increase in 
temperatures are disastrous.

A scenario such as the one above remains unfortunately possible given the 
current state of global geoengineering policy. As the increasingly severe 
effects of global warming generate greater interest in geoengineering 
technologies, the United States must prepare itself for the risks and 
uncertainties that come along with their potential deployment. Preparedness for 
such a world will likely be multi-faceted and will likely include improved 
understanding of how the global climate will change both with or without 
geoengineering, the ability to detect and monitor geoengineering activity 
worldwide, an adequate policy roadmap for deterring certain kinds of 
geoengineering activity and for responding in case of geoengineering deployment 
by other nations, among other measures.

The U.S. should also make a concerted effort to foster the development of an 
international governance regime for geoengineering. In the short term, that 
will involve leveraging existing international fora to legitimately debate 
geoengineering issues on the international stage while also championing a 
comprehensive code of conduct for geoengineering research worldwide. In the 
long run, the U.S. should take the lead on creating a geoengineering-specific 
international body, one with the appropriate scope and flexibility to deal with 
the myriad challenges involved while also promoting wide participation.

 

II. GEOENGINEERING OVERVIEW AND SECURITY CONCERNS

We have already begun to see the effects of man-made climate change around the 
world. As average temperatures climb, droughts become more frequent, storms 
become more destructive, and sea levels rise, among other harmful effects. The 
international community has made emissions mitigation its goal to prevent 
catastrophic levels of climate change, but as nations habitually fall short of 
targets deemed necessary by climate scientists, the risk of climate emergency 
heightens.

As a result, conversations around geoengineering have become more frequent. 
Defined as “the deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process 
that affects the earth’s climate in an attempt to counteract global warming,” 
geoengineering can broadly be divided into two very different subcategories: 1) 
carbon dioxide removal, which seeks to remove carbon from the atmosphere in 
order to lessen the greenhouse effect and thus slow warming, and 2) solar 
radiation management, or solar geoengineering, which attempts to increase 
reflection of solar radiation away from the earth in order to slow warming. 
Various types of solar geoengineering approaches include releasing reflective 
particles into the atmosphere (known as strategic aerosol injection) or 
spraying sea water into the lower atmosphere to generate brighter, more 
reflective clouds (known as marine cloud brightening).

It is important not to confuse carbon dioxide removal and solar geoengineering, 
two very different approaches, under the umbrella term “geoengineering.” Carbon 
dioxide removal as a climate solution has been largely embraced, as the risk of 
unintended consequences is considered minimal. Solar geoengineering, on the 
other hand, presents a variety of complicating issues.

For example, despite research on the matter, a consensus does not yet exist 
around the ultimate overall climate impact of techniques like strategic aerosol 
injection. Some alarming models have predicted that certain schemes would cause 
droughts for a significant portion of the earth’s population. Additionally, 
some predict the injection of aerosols into the atmosphere to cause increased 
depletion of the ozone layer. A long list of potential environmental 
complications like these exists in addition to complications that have not even 
been considered.

Artificially lowering global temperatures via solar geoengineering also 
presents the unique risk of “termination shock,” meaning that if deployment of 
such geoengineering technology were suddenly discontinued, the resulting abrupt 
warming could become even more catastrophic than if warming had simply 
continued on its previous trajectory. Unpredictable events such as terrorist 
attacks, natural disasters, or political action all create risk for the sudden 
discontinuation of solar geoengineering and thus risk of termination shock.

Beyond climate concerns, solar geoengineering technologies also present a 
variety of new political and ethical questions. Although any ideal global 
geoengineering scenario would involve substantial international cooperation, 
some solar geoengineering techniques could be effectively deployed by a single 
country or a small group of countries acting in isolation. Even one extremely 
rich individual could conceivably deploy their own solar geoengineering project 
if allowed to do so by their respective government; in fact, a technique like 
strategic aerosol injection is relatively inexpensive despite its potential for 
worldwide environmental impact. Due to such great uncertainty and potential 
danger of the global impact of these technologies, unilateral geoengineering 
deployment is considered a very dangerous possibility.

Even if some sort of global consensus emerges regarding solar geoengineering 
deployment, the question of who controls the global “thermostat” remains. Who 
would ultimately have the authority to decide what kind and how much 
geoengineering should take place? How will decisions weighing global benefit 
against local or regional risk be made? How can it be ensured that 
geoengineering decisions aren’t made to cause regional gains or losses? A world 
that features solar geoengineering use will need to answer these questions.

There is also the question of moral hazard—would the growing perception of 
geoengineering as a solution to climate change harm mitigation efforts around 
the world? The existence of moral hazard has been demonstrated empirically in 
many areas. For instance, it has been documented that increased healthcare 
insurance coverage results in increased demand for healthcare. The 
international community must consider the danger that geoengineering as global 
warming “insurance” could unintentionally generate additional planet-warming 
behavior, which is also amplified by the risk of termination shock.

Some also express concern over potential military applications of 
geoengineering techniques. In the past, militaries around the world have shown 
interest in controlling the weather, and it may seem logical to fear the 
weaponization of technologies designed for such purposes. However, given the 
uncertain nature of the effects of such technologies in addition to the 
international ban on military use of weather modification techniques, this 
particular risk may be less of a priority.

Given the potential threat that geoengineering could pose for the planet, it is 
important that the global community take steps to establish order in this 
space. While complete transparency among governments of the world would be 
ideal in theory, it is the unfortunate reality that some actors may pursue 
these activities unilaterally and in secret. The dangerous unknowns of such 
behavior require the capability to detect geoengineering activity wherever 
necessary. Early detection and localization of unannounced and unilaterally 
deployed geoengineering activities, either by private actors or states, 
requires adequate tools for rapid detection and response to maintain global 
security. The United States must develop its own realistic approach to 
preparing for emergency geoengineering scenarios. Given the danger that foreign 
geoengineering could present, the U.S. should establish proper security and 
deterrence mechanisms that can be carried out quickly and efficiently in case 
of potentially harmful geoengineering activity abroad.

 

Beyond surveillance, there is a dire need for a governance regime for global 
geoengineering activity. The inherently international nature of climate change 
and discussions of climate manipulation demand an international approach to 
governance. As worsening climate conditions are likely to generate continued 
worldwide interest in geoengineering deployment, the world cannot afford to 
wait until an emergency arrives if it hopes to navigate increasingly 
complicated climate and geoengineering scenarios. States should collaborate to 
develop and refine international norms and institutions to adequately prepare 
the world for the inevitable stresses of continued climate change and the 
resulting reaction from states and other actors.

 

III. UNDERSTANDING GEOENGINEERING GOVERNANCE

The importance of an effective governance regime for global geoengineering is 
clear, but what it will look like is undetermined. To adequately answer this 
question, it’s important to examine all facets of the geoengineering 
conversation.

 

Geoengineering governance is already the subject of academic research and 
debate. Often referenced in scholarly approaches to this issue are the Oxford 
Principles, a set of general guidelines created by a group of academics which 
was commissioned by the U.K. House of Commons Select Committee on Science and 
Technology. Although other similar efforts exist, the Oxford Principles have 
become the most influential. The five principles include 1) the regulation of 
geoengineering as a public good, 2) public participation in geoengineering 
decision-making, 3) disclosure of geoengineering research and publication of 
results, 4) independent assessment of impacts, and 5) governance before 
deployment. While these principles are useful in providing a theoretical lens 
for framing the geoengineering governance debate, they do not offer much in 
terms of realistic enforcement, a necessary component if norms like the Oxford 
Principles can ever be upheld.

 

A preliminary discussion for any governance regime concerns the regime’s goal 
of governance: what outcome does the regime seek to achieve? For instance, a 
geoengineering regime might seek to facilitate or promote further research into 
geoengineering. On the other hand, the regime could be primarily concerned with 
preventing geoengineering from occurring altogether if it considers the 
possibilities too dangerous. Establishing a clear goal of governance will be 
essential to any regime-building process for geoengineering and will shape all 
elements of governance.

 

Once the goal of governance has been determined, one of the most important 
considerations of the regime will be the deterrence of geoengineering activity 
without international approval. Until the risks of solar geoengineering are 
better understood, an individual country, a small group of countries, or even 
an individual acting alone could cause serious global harm by engaging in solar 
geoengineering. While some argue that states are unlikely to go this route 
given the strong reaction that it would engender from the international 
community, the risk of unilateral deployment must still be taken seriously and 
addressed given that continually worsening climate change could cause states or 
other actors to act desperately.

 

An effective geoengineering governance regime must also adequately account for 
the behavior of non-state actors, as even a wealthy individual could 
theoretically perform solar geoengineering on their own. International law 
applies to individuals only indirectly, as states are responsible for 
implementing legislation within their own jurisdiction. Even more complicated 
are areas beyond national jurisdiction; governing geoengineering on the high 
seas or in the stratosphere would require additional attention. Successful 
governance of geoengineering will require substantial effort to incentivize and 
support states in preventing solar geoengineering by non-state actors while 
also determining who has jurisdiction over ambiguous areas.

 

A geoengineering governance regime needs to address geoengineering research as 
well as deployment. Many scholars have already called for “governance before 
research,” although how to achieve such a result remains unclear. A moratorium 
on solar geoengineering field research, suggested by some, would be nearly 
impossible to impose. Funding of geoengineering research is also an important 
aspect of the conversation. International lending institutions such as the 
World Bank can serve as important governance tools via their ability to finance 
geoengineering projects. If geoengineering projects are eventually scaled up, 
private actors, too, will play a role in decision-making around geoengineering 
as they are called upon more greatly to provide requisite materials for 
geoengineering.

 

As previously emphasized, monitoring and intelligence will also be key to any 
geoengineering governance regime. Although an ideal governance regime would 
include representation of all countries of the world, it should be expected 
that some states will not cooperate, whether it be by joining a regime but 
ignoring any resulting mandates or by ignoring the regime altogether. For this 
reason, a reliable monitoring system that allows states to track geoengineering 
activity will be an important enforcement element of a successful regime. The 
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty provides a relevant example of an 
agreement featuring “wide-area environmental detection methods to verify state 
compliance.” This will not be an easy task, as successful monitoring of certain 
types of geoengineering is extremely difficult, but the effort remains 
essential.

 

A potential geoengineering governance regime could take many forms in both the 
near and long terms. For example, one near-term approach might seek to use 
existing international institutions and agreements (listed in Table 1 below) 
that have jurisdiction over elements of geoengineering.

 

Table 1

 

Treaty or Convention Relevance for Geoengineering

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Seeks to prevent dangerous 
interference in the global climate system

Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD) Prohibits environmental 
modification techniques for military purposes

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Establishes a duty to protect and 
preserve the marine environment

London Convention Restricts ocean fertilization activities

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Restricts ocean fertilization 
activities

Some advocate for leveraging these agreements to govern geoengineering in the 
immediate future. However, others doubt that they will be sufficient as none 
contains norms that clearly relate to geoengineering activity. One prominent 
alternative short-term suggestion to address this gap in current international 
law involves calling upon scientists themselves to govern solar geoengineering 
research via voluntary codes of conduct. Some experts have recommended a code 
of conduct requiring researchers to run thorough environmental impact 
assessments alongside geoengineering research to prevent environmental harm as 
well as to establish a standard of transparency, perhaps via a voluntary 
registry of research projects in which geoengineering researchers provide 
public updates on their work. This, however, is unlikely to be a long-term 
solution as researchers in autocratic countries may pay little attention to 
such voluntary governance efforts. Yet given the improbability of a 
successfully implemented moratorium on geoengineering research activity, a code 
of conduct may still prove useful together with existing international law as 
part of a short-term approach to governance.

 

When formulating a long-term approach to geoengineering governance, it is 
useful to revisit other ambitious efforts in international governance that can 
provide insight on aspects of governance structure. For instance, the 1968 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is highly relevant given the similar global 
nature of the respective threats of nuclear proliferation and solar 
geoengineering, especially if the goal of governance is largely preventative. 
Analyzing the NPT’s treatment of non-participants India, Israel, Pakistan, and 
North Korea could also be a useful exercise, as a similar challenge may exist 
for a geoengineering governance regime. Such non-cooperators have been a major 
problem for the international nuclear governance regime, one a geoengineering 
regime should do its best to avoid if possible.

 

Additionally, negotiations in the early 1980s under the United Nations 
Environment Programme regarding ozone-depleting substances led to the 1987 
Montreal Protocol, widely considered a successful environmental agreement that 
began with 24 signatories and was eventually ratified by 197 countries. Its use 
of scientific assessment panels, clearly defined targets and schedules, a 
dedicated financial mechanism, and a system to monitor compliance are all 
features that will be important for a successful geoengineering governance 
regime. Additionally, trade restrictions utilized to deal with non-parties to 
the Protocol can serve as a model for a geoengineering governance regime should 
any states decide not to cooperate.

 

The 1966 Outer Space Treaty and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty both provide examples 
of international scientific cooperation and efforts to prevent militarization 
of unexplored territory. These agreements differ from arms control treaties in 
that a certain type of activity is being designated as taboo, which could 
resemble an eventual approach to geoengineering governance. Additionally, the 
flexible approaches to governance found in the cases of these agreements due to 
a high degree of scientific uncertainty around the issues at hand (as is the 
case in geoengineering, currently) can provide useful insight for promoting 
commitment to cooperation as collective understanding continues to evolve.

 

Borrowing the most useful and relevant elements of these governance regimes 
while paying special attention to where they fell short can help build a 
foundation for an eventual geoengineering governance regime. Such a framework 
should be flexible and science-based, should have an extensive technical and 
financial toolset to adequately manage the various aspects of geoengineering, 
and should be capable of dealing with any non-participants or violators with 
appropriate force.

 

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Just as the international community needs to prepare for a world where 
geoengineering is more seriously considered as an emergency response to global 
warming, the U.S. has a responsibility to its own citizens to do what it can to 
prepare unilaterally for global geoengineering challenges. We propose three key 
steps that the Biden administration can take to protect against unauthorized 
geoengineering activities by other nations or non-state actors.

 

Develop capability for monitoring geoengineering activity

First, the United States should focus much of its effort on developing its own 
capability to effectively monitor geoengineering activity at any given location 
around the world. While the need for surveillance systems specifically designed 
to detect solar geoengineering has not been widely discussed, there are 
currently developing efforts to test a space-based surveillance approach for 
tracking methane emissions. This could provide important insight for 
geoengineering tracking given the similarities between how methane emissions 
and how the substances involved in certain methods of geoengineering will be 
detected.

 

Tracking solar geoengineering will also require a way to monitor the amount and 
size of artificial particulates in the stratosphere and the resulting climate 
effect. While climate change itself can be sufficiently monitored by existing 
orbiting satellites, monitoring solar geoengineering activity may need 
near-real time assessment and response to mitigate potential threats to 
national security. A constellation of satellites with persistent coverage could 
quickly detect and localize areas of interest that may be affected by 
geoengineering activity. Development of new satellite networks with new sensing 
capabilities will be essential to securing effective geoengineering monitoring 
and detection.

 

Although much is still unknown about geoengineering, the United States cannot 
afford to wait to act.

 

Local sampling will also be necessary to detect the chemical composition of 
substances introduced into natural environments and quickly assess expected 
changes in climate dynamics. Climate researchers have constructed models that 
represent the results of techniques such as sulfate aerosol geoengineering and 
technologies for countering the effects of geoengineering, but these 
researchers need considerable additional data to calibrate and improve those 
models.

 

Eventually, a multi-layered surveillance system with early detection 
capabilities will be required, one which will need significant investment to 
advance the necessary technologies. Important technologies include high 
efficiency batteries and the exploration of alternative power sources as well 
as applying an innovative systems approach to energy distribution and 
recharging techniques. Also, the development of sensors and instruments that 
can operate in challenging and extreme environments such as in the Arctic, in 
the stratosphere, in the deep sea or during extreme weather events. Other 
technologies involved will include imaging spectrometers and lidar systems 
which have been proposed as methods not only to collect field test data but 
also to be used to detect various other possible signs of geoengineering 
activity. Additionally, investment in sensing technologies is needed as well as 
investment in advancing AI algorithms and computational systems which will be 
essential to enable near real-time computations and organize automated 
responses.

 

These technical advancements will better allow the United States to detect 
different types of geoengineering around the world early enough to allow for an 
appropriate and timely response.

 

Develop methods to deter and respond to unilateral geoengineering without 
international approval

Beyond surveillance and before the creation of an effective international 
governance regime with the capability to respond, the United States must 
prepare its policy response to scenarios in which other actors deploy 
geoengineering technologies without international approval.

 

To prepare an adequate response, the government needs increased scientific 
research into the effects of various solar geoengineering practices. There is 
still great uncertainty around how the deployment of various solar 
geoengineering techniques around the world would impact the global climate and 
affect the United States’ security situation, so developing an appropriate 
response to the use of such technologies by foreign actors requires deeper 
familiarity with the risks associated with their use. For instance, if 
continued research and climate modeling strongly suggest that a certain type of 
solar geoengineering elsewhere in the world presents a serious threat to U.S. 
security or the security of its allies, the United States can tailor its policy 
response to meet the severity of the threat.

 

Such a policy will have to include answers to questions like what an example 
response might look like. The United States will need to develop a 
comprehensive plan of action based on its developing understanding of solar 
geoengineering technologies in the case that potentially dangerous activity 
should occur. What sort of immediate responses should be triggered? To what 
extent does it depend on who exactly is conducting solar geoengineering, or 
which particular technique is being used?

 

The tools deployed in responding to a geoengineering crisis will likely reflect 
the perceived threat of such geoengineering activity. If a foreign state is 
engaging in activity that has been determined to pose a genuine security threat 
to the United States or its allies, economic sanctions could provide an 
appropriately serious response without resorting to the use of military force. 
Research has shown that sanctions are most effective when implemented 
multilaterally via international institutions as well when major damage is 
inflicted on the target economy, two realities that also further emphasize the 
importance of international cooperation on geoengineering governance.

 

However, it is possible that the anticipated effect of foreign geoengineering 
activity might require more immediate intervention than counting on sanctions 
to eventually force the offending party to change its behavior. Research on 
“counter-geoengineering” practices has begun to explore possible efforts to 
actively counter the effects of geoengineering being conducted by others. This 
could amount to the use of a warming agent to balance the cooling effect 
produced by geoengineering or by physically disrupting the technology itself. 
While the back-and-forth development of geoengineering and 
counter-geoengineering technology would not reflect well on the status of 
global climate cooperation, further investment in counter-geoengineering could 
act as a geoengineering deterrent in itself.

 

Leverage existing international institutions and establish a voluntary code of 
conduct to promote global governance of geoengineering

Along with the development of robust surveillance systems and preparation of a 
policy response to foreign geoengineering activity, it is critical that the 
United States help drive and facilitate a global movement toward geoengineering 
governance. Certainly the U.S. should be prepared to monitor and respond to 
potentially harmful geoengineering activity. Yet given the inherent danger, 
uncertainty, and difficulty in doing so, an ideal outcome would involve no 
rogue geoengineering activity at all. Generating successful short- and 
long-term international governance for geoengineering, however difficult, is 
the safest way to achieve such an outcome.

 

What can the United States do to best promote geoengineering governance in the 
immediate future? First, use existing international institutions such as the 
UNFCCC—Article 2 of which states that its objective is to prevent “dangerous 
anthropogenic intervention in the climate system”—to legitimize conversations 
around geoengineering governance. Second, embrace and promote a universal code 
of conduct for research in the geoengineering space. Quickly establishing an 
official forum such as the UNFCCC for discussions related to geoengineering 
will be important in generating momentum towards a more comprehensive 
governance mechanism. Simultaneously, ensuring American scientists join other 
researchers around the world in adhering to a geoengineering code of conduct 
may help promote responsible and transparent research activity in this space in 
the near future, even if these efforts do not provide a long-term solution. 
Such an effort may also contribute to the development of relevant norms and 
processes that can provide the foundation for continued governance.

 

In the long term, it is in the best interest of the United States to promote 
the creation of a geoengineering-focused treaty under the United Nations or 
another international body. Again, the use of the United Nations provides an 
inherent sense of legitimacy to any governance effort, while a multilateral 
decision-making process allows for greater likelihood that wide participation 
may occur. Important elements of such a regime would include a legal mandate 
for deployment, a technical agency, and a governing body to set policy 
guidelines, among other elements. The agreement must require that member states 
enforce the decision of the body within their own jurisdictions while also 
determining jurisdiction over areas outside of national boundaries.

 

V. CONCLUSION

Although much is still unknown about geoengineering, the United States cannot 
afford to wait to act. By investing in robust surveillance systems, preparing 
internally for deployment of geoengineering technologies by foreign actors, and 
leading the way in the development of a global governance regime, the U.S. can 
greatly minimize the risk presented by increased interest in a human-controlled 
global climate.

 

This research was sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (JHU/APL). 
Joseph Versen is a Research and Communications Intern in the Executive Office 
at World Resources Institute. Other than the aforementioned, the authors did 
not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from 
any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. They 
are not currently officers, directors, or board members of any organization. 
Prior to publication, this work was reviewed by JHU/APL staff to ensure it does 
not include any sensitive information related to national security. The views 
expressed herein are opinions of the authors and not official position of 
JHU/APL or Brookings.

Source: Brookings.edu <http://brookings.edu/> 

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