Navigating Uncertainty: Why Public-Interest Research is Key to Responsible SRM Policy
Kuva: Pietari Purovaara
Operaatio Arktis welcomes the Council of the European Union’s attention to SRM and appreciates its commitment to constructively engage in the discussion of international governance and research of the issue.
We agree with the Council that any kind of SRM deployment would be premature and unwise. This is particularly due to the fact that there are big scientific uncertainties around SRM, and because international governance is lacking. Ungoverned and uninformed deployment of SRM is a scenario that we should avoid at all costs.
The council's conclusion constructively accounts for the problem with the governance questions of SRM, but greater attention should also be paid to SRM’s potential to alleviate some of the risks posed by climate change. SRM is by no means a silver bullet to climate change, but in addition to even stronger mitigation efforts and scaled-up carbon removals, it may help to prevent unbearable levels of global warming and ecological collapses.
For example, the recent report from the Nordic Council of Ministers recognises that the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation poses a significant risk to Nordic Countries, and that SRM might alleviate the risk of an AMOC collapse. SRM’s potential to alleviate some of the climate impact is also recognised by the Royal Society (2025). This explicitly calls for more public-interest-oriented research efforts to increase understanding.
We do not support any kind of SRM deployment and a moratorium on deployment may be a reasonable approach. As the UNEP’s One Atmosphere report (2023) and the Scientific Advice mechanism for the European Commission (2024) suggest, this position should be a subject of change depending on how scientific understanding of SRM and success in climate action evolve. For example, the latter report recommends a moratorium on deployment with a review every five to ten years. We see it is also critical to clearly distinguish between research, small-scale field research, and deployment. Especially when discussing a moratorium and in terms of SRM governance.
We thank the Council of the European Union for its commitment to engage in constructive dialogue on the governance of SRM. We also welcome continued public-interest-oriented & responsible research into this topic.
Sources:
A Nordic perspective on AMOC tipping: https://www.norden.org/en/publication/nordic-perspective-amoc-tipping
Scientific advice mechanism:
https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/solar-radiation-modification/
UNEP One Atmosphere:
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/Solar-Radiation-Modification-research-deployment
The Royal Society:
https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/solar-radiation-modification/