Solar Geoengineering Research Program Lunch Talk with Cynthia Scharf

Abstract: SRM (solar geoengineering), deployed at scale, would affect every country in the world, but not necessarily equally. It could affect - for good or for ill - a nation’s security and stability, its economy and vital resources, and its social cohesion. But who would decide what the ideal temperature should be, and how? One thing is clear. That decision, if ever taken, will not be based on science alone. SRM is more than a potential tool to temporarily turn down the planet’s thermostat. It is inherently geopolitical; indeed, some postulate that SRM could be a new tool of geopolitical power and prestige.
What do dozens of governments around the globe know and think of SRM? Why is interest in this transformational technology growing, and where might this lead? Is this climate politics as usual, or something different? As the planet continues to heat up, how might the world’s most climate-ravaged countries, and the world’s two superpowers, the US and China, respond? Finally, what does the second Trump administration’s rollback of climate action presage for the potential future use of SRM?
Bio: Cynthia Scharf is a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Future Generations, a European think tank, advising their work on climate intervention technologies. She was previously the senior strategy director for the Carnegie Climate Governance (C2G) Initiative (2017-23), encouraging global policymakers to create guardrails and guidelines for solar radiation modification (solar geoengineering). Cynthia has written widely on these topics including in Foreign Policy and Science; she has spoken at the World Bank, Vatican, Arctic Circle Assembly, American Geophysical Union, and Sandia National Labs, among others. From 2009-2016, Cynthia was the chief speechwriter and head of strategic climate change communications for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She advised and supported the Secretary-General before, during and after the landmark Paris climate change agreement. She received her M.A. at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.