The world’s largest solar geoengineering conference takes place this week in Cape Town, South Africa, and the main topic will be a climate intervention so controversial that it’s divided scientists and activists across the globe: using technology to beam sunlight away from the Earth and artificially cool the planet.
One reason for the controversy is that solar geoengineering has the potential to affect all of humanity, but it could be done — at least hypothetically — by a single nation or company. At the same time, a report released this week that found the world’s wealthiest nations are reaping the lion’s share of funding for geoengineering research.
The threat of a rich nation, or group of nations, going rogue on geoengineering is part of what’s motivating The Degrees Initiative, the UK-based NGO behind the Cape Town conference. Its self-proclaimed mission is to place developing nations — or those most threatened by climate change — at the center of global conversations around geoengineering.
To that end, the conference includes panels on topics such as perspectives from Africa and the role of Latin America and the Caribbean in global decision-making. Conference organizers noted that more than half the meeting’s 330 registered attendees hail from countries in the Global South.
