There are many questions that need to be answered, given the stakes involved in solar geoengineering. When and under what conditions should it be applied? Who would be responsible? What are the possible side effects? And what would happen in the event of premature interruption, for example due to war?
Acting on solar radiation could have an impact on vegetation and agricultural production worldwide. The effects of solar geoengineering could also prove uneven across the planet, with a possible reduction in precipitation in some areas. Moreover, sulfur dioxide particles are harmful to human health and the environment.
In 2019, Switzerland submitted a resolution to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), supported by a dozen other countries, calling for a detailed assessment of climate geoengineering. This was withdrawn for lack of consensus.
Switzerland believes that UNEP should carry out this study and initiate a process of multilateral discussions on governance. Sikina Jinnah, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, insists on the need to include in the discussion those countries that have historically contributed the least to global warming but are the most affected by it.
“Ninety percent of research and opinion polls on solar geoengineering have been conducted in North America and Europe. The countries most vulnerable to climate change have so far been largely excluded”.
