C2G Statement on the resignation of Louise Bedsworth from the SCoPEx Advisory Committee
30 July 2020 – C2G notes a July 22 statement that Louise Bedsworth is resigning as chair of the advisory committee to SCoPEx, a Harvard University experiment on stratospheric aerosol injection.
C2G wishes Dr. Bedsworth the best for the future, and endorses the statement’s position that “if solar geoengineering research is to occur, strong governance is needed”.
In June, the advisory committee invited comments on how it should help govern SCoPex. C2G supports the continuation of that process, and hopes a new chair can be found soon.
Janos Pasztor, C2G’s Executive Director, noted in a blog post on June 24 that the governance of such research “is essential for many reasons, including to ensure public safety, provide the knowledge base to identify those approaches that societies can support, and to guard against a slippery slope to deployment.”
“Efforts such as this SCoPEx consultation can play a valuable role in developing understanding and experience. That is why we see this as an important moment to engage constructively in what may be a first opportunity to collectively build a suitable framework.”