IPCC Expert Meeting on Geoengineering

Annex 3: Keynote Abstracts
One step forward could be the adoption of guiding principles for geoengineering governance, not as a template for an
international treaty instrument but as an example of potential guidance, which could be embedded in soft or hard law and
used by the key geoengineering stakeholders to guide decision-making on geoengineering research in particular. These
might comprise the following (Rayner, et al., 2009; Asilomar Scientific Organizing Committee, 2010):
Principle 1: Geoengineering to be regulated as a public good
Principle 2: Public participation in geoengineering decision-making
Principle 3: Disclosure of geoengineering research and open publication of results
Principle 4: Independent assessment of impacts
Principle 5: Governance before deployment
Such guiding principles could sit well against the backdrop of a moratorium on deployment pursuant to ENMOD or a
General Assembly resolution, for example. Unlike a binding legal instrument, such guidance can be adopted “instantly”
through endorsement by relevant actors (UNGA resolution; UNEP guidelines; endorsement by national legislatures;
professional bodies etc). Nor is the adoption of guiding principles in “soft” form and the simultaneous negotiation of
binding rules mutually exclusive, with the possibility of “twin-track soft-hard” rules (Redgwell, 2011). Such principles are
also adaptable to the multi-scalar multi-level – local, national and international - governance architecture needed
successfully to combat climate change (Osofsky, 2008; Scott, 2011).
References
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