Description
Solar geoengineering or Solar radiation modification (SRM) is a suite of emerging technologies that deflect a certain amount of incoming sunlight. Interest in these technologies within the scientific community is driven by increasing concerns about climate change and the need to quickly lower global temperatures. While these technologies are capable, to varying degrees, of providing such a cooling effect we challenge the assumption that they should be thought of only, or even primarily, as ‘climate interventions.’ SRM modelling tends to investigate ideal scenarios in which global cooling is achieved while avoiding disruptive side effects, which requires careful and sustained cooperation over decades or even centuries. In a world where great-power rivalry is again becoming increasingly commonplace, we argue that it is not cooperation, but competition that may drive actors to engage with SRM. It is as likely that the technology will be used to realize other strategic interests, including maintaining control over a key international space, achieving an economic advantage, or simply demonstrating power. Competitive, coercive SRM development and use needs to be taken seriously in order to understand both the climate and political risks these technologies pose. Interdisciplinary cooperation and engagement is essential to navigate the development of SRM in the context of intensified geopolitical rivalries.
