Governance of emerging climate technologies in the context of sustainable development.

STI Forum 2021: Side Event

 18 May 2021

This event was recorded on 18 May 2021, and is also available with interpretation into 中文Español and Français.

As the climate crisis deepens, some scientists are considering additional approaches to reduce risk, alongside the essential work of cutting emissions and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) approaches would aim to reflect back more sunlight into space, to lower the global temperature.  

But these approaches raise many questions and concerns, and policy makers are looking to learn more. What is the state of research and knowledge? What are the potential risks and benefits associated with them, and how might they be weighed against those of a world warming beyond the current Paris goals (SDGs)? What trade-offs and synergies might they have with the Sustainable Development Goals? How might the world govern them for the benefit of all? What governance is needed if the decisions is not to use them?  

During the Sixth annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) co-hosted a side event with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). This event offered an overview of the state of SRM research and development, explored the implications for the SDGs and highlighted the need to strengthen governance to guarantee climate justice, presented together with policy recommendations for possible pathways to address knowledge and governance gaps in future. 

 

Speakers

Dr Inés Camilloni, University of Buenos Aires

Lead Author of the chapter on Impacts of 1.5°C global warming on natural and human systems of the IPCC Special Report on Global warming of 1.5°C (SR15) and of the chapter on Near-term Climate Change: Projections and Predictability of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.

She is a Professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires and Senior Researcher of the Center for Atmosphere and Ocean Research (CIMA), jointly sponsored by the Argentina National Research Council (CONICET) and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). She is the principal investigator of the SRMGI study “Hydrological impacts of solar radiation management in the La Plata Basin in South America”. She has participated, leaded or coordinated several recognized national and international research projects related with climate variability and change, and has authored several peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and book chapters.

She was a member of the Argentinean team that developed the report on present and future climate trends in Argentina for the “3rd National Communication of Climate Change” and the related web-based dissemination of climate data and scenarios to support impact studies in Argentina. 

Leah Wanambwa, African Union Commission

Senior Policy Officer, in the Environment Climate Change, Water and Land Management Division at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is specifically working on Climate Change, Conservation of Africa’s Wild Fauna and Flora (wildlife) and biodiversity portfolios. Leah has over 15 years of experience working on environmental policy, advocacy and communication.

Prior to joining the African Union Commission, she worked at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya and the Greenbelt Movement, an NGO in Kenya.

Ambuj Sagar, Indian Institute of Technology

Founding Head, School of Public Policy; Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Ambuj is the founding Head of the School of Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Ambuj’s interests broadly lie at the intersection of science, technology and development. His recent work has focused on innovation policy for meeting sustainability and inclusivity challenges, energy innovation policy and strategies (in areas such as biofuels, clean cookstoves, coal power, automobiles, and institutional mechanisms such as climate innovation centers), climate change policy and politics, capacity development, and higher education policy.

He is a Board member of the Indo-US S&T Forum and a member of the Indo-German Expert Group on a Green and Inclusive Economy. He also was a Board member of the US-India Educational Foundation (2011-15), member of the US-India Track II Dialog on Climate and Energy (2010-15) and member of the Indian Planning Commission’s Expert Committee on a Low-Carbon Strategy for Inclusive Growth (2009-11).

He also has been consultant/advisor to various Indian Govt. ministries as well as many multilateral and bilateral agencies. He was a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Assistant Dean for Strategic Planning at the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences before joining IIT Delhi’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi.

Prakash Kashwan, University of Connecticut

Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Research Program on Economic and Social Rights, Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs. He is the author of the widely reviewed and acclaimed book Democracy in the Woods: Environmental Conservation and Social Justice in India, Tanzania, and Mexico (Oxford University Press, 2017) and a Co-Editor of the journal Environmental Politics.

He also serves on the editorial advisory boards of Earth Systems Governance, Progress in Development Studies, Sage Open, and Humanities & Social Sciences Communications. Professor Kashwan is a member of the global expert group for Scoping of Transformative Change Assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a member of the Academic Working Group (AWG) on International Governance of Climate Engineering (2016 –18), a Senior Research Fellow of the Earth System Governance (ESG) Project, a member of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) established by Brown University, and an external faculty affiliate of the Ostrom Workshop.

He is also the co-convener of Climate Justice Network, which he co-founded with support from American Political Science Association (APSA). He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA).

Highlights

What institutions are needed to win public trust in SRM research?

Leah Wanambwa
Senior Policy Officer, Environment Climate Change, Water and Land Management Division, African Union Commission 

How can SRM research be best organized and governed, in a way that includes society?

Professor Ambuj Sagar
Founding Head, School of Public Policy; Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology

“How might SRM be governed in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals?

Professor Ambuj Sagar
Founding Head, School of Public Policy; Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology

How do we build capacity for SRM governance?

Professor Ambuj Sagar
Founding Head, School of Public Policy; Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology

 

How do we address social, economic, and climate justice in SRM governance? 

Prakash Kashwan
Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut 

What SRM research is needed to understand the impact on developing countries?

Dr Inés Camilloni
Associate professor, Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, University of Buenos Aires and Researcher, Del Mar Atmosphere Research Center

“How do we build SRM governance capacity in more countries?”

Leah Wanambwa
Senior Policy Officer, Environment Climate Change, Water and Land Management Division, African Union Commission 

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