Law Commons^™

Many scholars argue that the international regulation of solar climate engineering should be developed within those existing legal institutions that have (near-) universal participation--such as those of the UNFCCC or the CBD--and often toward binding rules. I believe that it would be counterproductive, at least for the foreseeable future. It is presently not a relatively productive endeavour to dwell on how states might collectively govern technologies which do not yet exist; whose forms, benefits, risks, costs, and reversibilities remain unknown; and under what circumstances and for what purposes they might be used are likewise still indefinite. We should conceptualize the …

Solar climate engineering is under increasing consideration as a potential means to reduce climate change risks. Its field research may generate knowledge to reduce climate risks to humans and the environment and will, at sufficient scales, pose its own risks, some of which will be transboundary. Liability or compensation for harm is frequently referenced as a possible component of international regulation of solar climate engineering but has been insufficiently elaborated. This article offers an economic analysis of the possible interrelated roles of rules, liability, and compensation in the future international regulation of large-scale solar climate engineering field research. Notably, the …