Even if scientists were able to attribute specific events to specific interventions, experience suggests that countries would still make claims about damages and liability, which would necessitate some sort of international regulatory regime. Of course such a regime would also be necessary to coordinate multiple interventions, and to coordinate geoengineering with ongoing mitigation efforts. In the case of stratospheric injections, global governance structures need to be developed in parallel with research and experimentation, because robust testing will likely be indistinguishable from deployment.
Josh Horton On Feb 20, 11:44 am, [email protected] wrote: > All: > > Stephen, this transfer function is for tropospheric spraying, yes? The > strato cases are not nearly so predictable. I'd expect the tropo sprays > don't propagate far, anyway. > > National legislation to protect geo experiments from lawsuits is > crucial. As David says, international treaties will help, but I'd > estimate they will take far longer, and delay is our enemy. I'd be > happy with the Arctic Council defending their experiments, as they have > clout and standing. > > Gregory Benford > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: David Schnare <[email protected]> > > Cc: geoengineering <[email protected]> > Sent: Sat, Feb 20, 2010 7:56 am > Subject: Re: [geo] SRM geoengineering: how to deal with the losers? > > Pete: > > My sense is that who will be a winner or loser is an unknowable > unknown. While I agree with Professor Salter that we could take a stab > at it, and indeed others on this list have made some preliminary > attempts to look at precipitation issues, the sad reality is that > models are dreadfully inadequate for regional analyses and greater > computing power will not be enough to make them much more useful. > > In the absence of quality information, humankind has used a best guess, > iterative approach, achieved through international treaty. My > suspicion is that will be what will have to happen here to address > winners and losers. I am concerned, however, that such an approach > will not work if potential "losers" demand stipulated reparations. > > Schnare > > On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 9:38 AM, p.j.irvine > <[email protected]> wrote: > It is likely that any SRM geoengineering intervention will create > winners and losers and some nations may always be against any > intervention whatsoever. > > Gregory Benford raised the issue of reaching agreement on the global > scale and how problematic it would be. If for example the arctic > council of nations agreed to initiate a decade-long field trial to > cool the arctic by 1 C, how could they deal with complaints from > nations who felt that this experiment had induced a negative change in > their climate? > > In any given year there are floods, droughts, heatwaves, etc. but > during this field trial a fraction of these events would be attributed > (rightly or wrongly, partially or fully) to the intervention. Two > questions arise: > > Could it be determined if any changes in the climate (outside of the > target area) had occurred as a result of the intervention during a 10 > year trial? > > How would aggrieved nations or peoples seek reparations for perceived > negative impacts (scientifically proven or otherwise)? > > best regards, > > Pete Irvine > PhD student > School of Geographical Sciences > University of Bristol > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "geoengineering" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. > > -- > David W. Schnare > Center for Environmental Stewardship > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "geoengineering" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
