Last March we reported on a conference in California that featured more than 175 experts from various disciplines trying to come up with some guidance for conducting geoengineering research. It took a while, but the final conference report is now out. Here’s a quick summary of the five recommendations:
(1) climate engineering research should be aimed at promoting the collective benefit of humankind and the environment;
(2) governments must clarify responsibilities for, and, when necessary, create new mechanisms for the governance and oversight of large-scale climate engineering research activities;
(3) climate-engineering research should be conducted openly and cooperatively, preferably within a framework that has broad international support;
(4) iterative, independent technical assessments of research progress will be required to inform the public and policymakers; and
(5) public participation and consultation in research planning and oversight, assessments, and development of decision-making mechanisms and processes must be provided.
The full report is available on the conference website or from the Climate Institute. Our coverage is available here and here. And in case you missed it, you can pick up a quick summary of some of the latest geoengineering developments here.