Workshop on 'Solar Geoengineering: Research, Governance, and African Involvement'

The slow progress of international climate negotiations has led to heightened interest and speculation about geoengineering technologies as a potential technological option to moderate global warming. Although the technologies are still in their formative stages, research and the possible deployment of geoengineering techniques pose serious and complex policy and governance issues. In the absence of formulated national government positions and with limited government-sponsored inquiries, the key framers and drivers of research governance are scientific research communities and NGOs, who will face important questions of capacity, inclusiveness, transparency, and uncertainty of research.

“Solar Geoengineering: Research, Governance, and African Involvement” will be held on 28 November 2012 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, South Africa. The event is being held in cooperation with and immediately following the National Conference on Global Change (26-28 November). The half day workshop (13:00-17:00 local time) will provide a forum for participants to discuss the state of geoengineering research and emerging governance regimes, and share their views and experiences. The ultimate goal is the engagement of the African community in considered and cooperative future dialogues on geoengineering research governance.

Session participants will be encouraged to examine how geoengineering research might be governed in open and equitable ways, especially from the point of view of African nations and their diverse peoples. Additionally, session participants will have an opportunity to review outcomes from a preceding workshop, “Governance of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) Research: African Perspectives,” held in Dakar, Senegal, in June of this year.

For more information, please contact Olivia Osula at AAS: o.osula[at]aasciences.org

ABOUT THE SOLAR RADIATION MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE (SRMGI)

Launched in 2010, SRMGI (www.srmgi.org) is an international NGO initiative (led by the Royal Society, TWAS and the Environment Defense Fund) that aims to foster an interdisciplinary and international discussion on how solar radiation management (SRM) research could be appropriately governed. The long-term objective of SRMGI is to build a diverse community of well-informed international stakeholders engaged and able to contribute to these on-going discussions. Events in Africa are being funded largely through a grant from IAP, the Global Network of Science Academies, to the African Academy of Sciences.