Geoengineering: Science & Governance

The MIT Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change and Harvard University Center for the Environment present a new series on: Geoengineering: Science & Governance "International Governance of Climate Engineering" With Edward A. Parson, Professor of Law, UCLA Edward (Ted) Parson writes in the area of environmental governance and policy, with particular focus on international environmental issues, such as ozone depletion and climate change. He is a leading expert on climate change law and policy, and his book Protecting the Ozone Layer: Science and Strategy won the 2004 Harold and Margaret Sprout Award from the International Studies Association. His research has been highly influential in the drafting of the Montreal Protocol, the first international treaty to address the need to protect and reverse the damage to the ozone layer. About the Series: Solar geoengineering is the concept of deliberately cooling the Earth by reflecting a small amount of inbound sunlight back into space. It is the only currently known method for reducing temperatures in the short term (years to decades), and therefore has the potential to reduce many of the worst impacts of global warming. But what would be the side effects, both physical and socio-political? How would it work and who gets to decide if it is deployed? Does humanity have the wisdom and the institutions to govern the development of such a powerful technology in this messy, multi-polar world? This seminar series, held jointly by the Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) and MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, will explore the science, technology, governance and ethics of solar geoengineering. In bringing together international experts, participants will learn some of the greatest challenges and hear opinions on how this technology could and should be managed. http://environment.harvard.edu/geoengineering Twitter: #HarvMITGeoeng Contact: Vicki Ekstrom Communications Officer MIT Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change 617-253-3411 vekstrom@mit.edu