A proposal to expand research on solar geoengineering was withdrawn from consideration at the United Nations Environment Assembly on Thursday after nations failed to reach agreement over how to approach the knotty issue of reflecting sunlight away from the Earth.
The draft resolution was among the most contentious proposals at the meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, given how little is known about solar geoengineering and the potential risks of spraying particles into the atmosphere to block the sun’s heat as a way to temper rising temperatures.
The move by Switzerland to abandon the proposal came after days of negotiations failed to result in a consensus among nations, some of which expressed concern about the effects that potential atmospheric experiments could have on the environment.
“There was general acknowledgment that more research and better access to information is needed, including on the existing knowledge gaps [and] possible impacts including associated risks and uncertainties,” Felix Wertli, head of the Swiss negotiating delegation, said in an email to E&E News.
