David Morrow Faculty Fellow American UniversityFCEA Visiting Fellow George Mason University morrowamericanedu The Core Argument for Researching SRM There is a serious risk that mitigation and adaptation efforts will not adequately reduce climate risk ID: 654350
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "It is permissible to research solar radi..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
It is permissible to research solar radiation management?
David Morrow
Faculty Fellow, American University/FCEA
Visiting Fellow, George Mason University
morrow@american.eduSlide2Slide3
The “Core Argument” for Researching SRM
There is a serious risk that mitigation and adaptation efforts will not adequately reduce climate risk.
SRM might have the potential, if used wisely, to reduce climate risk in a quick, cost-effective, and morally acceptable way.
Making wise decisions about the use (or non-use) of SRM requires us to gather much more information about it, which takes time.
4. We should do further research into SRM.
Photo:
Bob the LomondSlide4
The Trade-Off Argument
The expected level of mitigation effort is inversely related to the intensity of SRM research.
Within the expected range of mitigation, more mitigation is better than less mitigation, other things being equal.
3. SRM research will make things worse, with the problem intensifying as SRM research intensifies.
4. We should not do further research into SRM.
Photo:
hjhipster
?
!
Slide5
The Slippery Slope Argument
If some kinds of further SRM research are done, they will lead to (some kind of) deployment that would be very bad.
2. Those kinds of further SRM research should not be done.
Photo:
dbang
Which research?
Deployed in what way?
How?Slide6
The
Ungovernability
Argument
SRM deployment would have to be governed either by the UN, by a coalition of states, or by a single state acting unilaterally.
The UN could not effectively govern SRM because it could never agree on deployment.Any effective coalition would be illegitimate.
Unilateral deployment would be illegitimate.
5. No governance regime could be both effective and legitimate.
?Slide7
The Inherent Immorality Argument
We know
now
that deploying SRM would be inherently immoral.
We should not even bother to investigate doing something that we know would be immoral.3. We should not research SRM.
“Fall of Icarus,” Peter Jacob
Gowy
Why?Slide8
Conclusions
Because the arguments against it do not outweigh the “core argument,”
f
urther research into SRM, including limited outdoor research, is permissible.
But those arguments remind us that we should:Focus on certain
kinds
of deployment
Take steps to reduce trade-offs
Make regulatory capture difficult
Build in international governance early
Photo:
Thomas Hawk