AN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK FOR CLIMATE INTERVENTION RESEARCH, EXPERIMENTATION AND DEPLOYMENT, AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Climate change is a global threat. As such, scientific and technology organizations and funders are increasingly devoting attention and resources to climate intervention research and, in some cases, already pursuing large-scale testing. Climate intervention measures include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation modification (SRM). The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and many other authoritative bodies have called for "a code of conduct" and governance structure to guide the research, potential scaling and possible deployment of these intervention measures. Additionally, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has recently released a five-year research plan and governance framework to help assess the benefits and risks of potential approaches for SRM.

This presentation will discuss a global initiative facilitated by AGU to help establish and gain support for an ethical framework to help guide such efforts climate intervention research efforts. Preliminary proposed ethical framework principles, developed through broad trans-disciplinary input and guided by a global advisory board, have recently undergone public comment period. This presentation will discuss current status of this initiative and include various practical, ethical and governance considerations of potential climate intervention technologies to be considered before deciding potential scaled deployment of such measures – including climate justice considerations and representation.