This briefing by Anja Chalmin, a researcher with Geoengineering Monitor and the ETC Group, examines The Degrees Initiative, a UK-based NGO that is “dedicated to putting the Global South at the centre of the Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) conversation.” Contents...
Briefings
Technology briefings
Other briefings
New briefing offers a critical perspective on biochar
Biofuelwatch's new briefing, Biochar: A critical perspective, looks into what the science tells us about whether biochar reliably stores carbon and boosts soil fertility. Download the briefing In 2011, Biofuelwatch published a comprehensive report on biochar:...
Protect coastal and marine biodiversity from geoengineering
New ETC Group briefing for delegates at SBSTTA 26 In a wave of “blue carbon” hype, oceans and coastal areas are increasingly pitched as tools to fight global warming. Around the globe dozens of new projects are projected to increase the ocean's capacity to absorb CO2...
Don’t Geoengineer Africa: Hands Off Mother Earth! Alliance Policy Brief
This HOME! Alliance Policy Brief has been published by the HOME Africa working group on Geoengineering, and was distributed to delegates at the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi in February 2024. You can download the briefing in English (the French...
Briefing for UNEA6 Delegates on Solar Radiation Modification
As the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) kicks off in Nairobi, Kenya, the Hands Off Mother Earth! (HOME) Alliance and allies have published a new briefing for delegates on what is set to be a hotly-debated topic at the Assembly:...
Direct Air Capture: Big Oil’s Latest Smokescreen
A new briefing by CIEL describes how technological fixes like direct air capture (DAC) are gaining dangerous momentum at a time when our window to prevent catastrophic climate impacts is narrowing. While pulling pollution out of the atmosphere might sound like a good...
False claims from geoengineers, and other recent developments in Latin America
Photo Credit: Antonio Lapa By Anja Chalmin Two years ago, we provided an inventory of geoengineering projects on the Latin American continent. As then, most geoengineering activities in Latin America continue to be driven or carried out by...
Impacts of methane and commercializing methane capture
By Anja Chalmin Comparing anthropogenic influence on the two most important GHGs[i] Preindustrial atmospheric concentration never exceeded:Atmospheric concentration in 2022:Percentage increase:Annual emissions prior to industrializationGlobal annual emissions...
Briefing Debunks Myths about Solar Geoengineering
The Solar Geoengineering Non Use Agreement, an initiative signed by 400+ academics from over 50 countries recently released a briefing note (in English and Spanish) that debunks the ten most prevalent myths advanced by solar geoengineering lobbyists. This is a useful...
Commercialization in geoengineering continues to increase
By Anja Chalmin The Quarterly Review summarises the latest developments on the Geoengineering Monitor Map highlighting emerging trends for civil society and climate justice movements. Key Points - Quarterly Review IV In the last quarter of 2022, the trend continues...
By prohibiting solar geoengineering experiments, Mexico sets a global example of precaution
By Laura Dunn, Editor of Geoengineering Monitor The Mexican government recently announced that it will not permit solar geoengineering experiments and will go so far as to stop geoengineering experiments in the country, if necessary. This decision followed two...
The current state of CCS in the US after 100 years of CO2 capture and 25 years of extensive federal funding
By Anja Chalmin In the United States, CO2 has been captured for more than 100 years and CO2 capture combined with "storage" has been heavily funded by the US-DOE for 25 years. CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) refers to the capture of CO2 emissions from power plants or...
Immense additional fossil fuel extraction and rising climate-relevant emissions from geoengineering projects in Asia
By Anja Chalmin Introduction In Asia, the number of new and planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects has increased rapidly in recent years. The captured CO2 is mostly used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or enhanced gas recovery (EGR). EOR...
Geoengineering Supporters Plan to Set up a New Climate Overshoot Commission
Photo Credit: Benjamin ChildBy: Geoengineering MonitorIn May 2022, a new “global commission” will be launched to discuss and potentially devise a governance regime for solar geoengineering. This article provides background, context, and critical assessment to inform...
High-risk geoengineering technologies won’t reverse climate breakdown
Climeworks’ Orca plant, the world’s largest direct air capture and CO2 storage plant, in Hellisheiði, Iceland (Photo: @Climeworks) Originally published by Climate Home News on 01/03/2022 By Linda Schneider Stronger than ever before, the...
QUARTERLY REVIEW #3: Biomass developments in 2021
Photo Credit: Statkraft By Anja Chalmin 3,000 miles of CO2 pipelines to be built and other updates on capturing carbon using plant biomass The second part of the report presents developments, projects and funding programmes aimed at capturing carbon using plant...
QUARTERLY REVIEW #3: DAC & CCUS developments in 2021
By Anja Chalmin This report presents the latest developments in geoengineering technologies, projects and funding programs worldwide in recent months. The report’s findings show an increasing interest in capturing CO2 (carbon dioxide) from ambient air and...
Fossil fuel industry and investments in CCS & CCUS
By Anja Chalmin The fossil fuel industry has a stake in the majority of known CCS and CCUS projects Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) fall into the category of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) geoengineering...
Carbfix and Climeworks’ large-scale plans to capture CO2 and inject it into basalt formations in Iceland involve high consumption of scarce resources and potential risks
By Anja Chalmin Since 2017, the companies Carbfix and Climeworks have been working on joint projects to capture CO2 and inject it underground in Iceland. Now this cooperation is to be expanded further: Climeworks aims to multiply the amount of...
Geoengineering Map explainer
The world map documents geoengineering development research, experiments and projects Climate geoengineering refers to large-scale schemes for intervention in the earth’s oceans, soils and atmosphere with the aim of reducing the effects of climate change, usually...
California Legislature Backs Off Of Net Zero Plan, Overwhelmingly Approves Geoengineering Bill Promoting Direct Air Capture, BECCS And Nature-based Solutions
By Gary Graham Hughes, California Policy Monitor, Biofuelwatch On Friday, Sept 10, the California legislative session drew to a close for the year with the typical flurry of political theater, last minute negotiations and behind closed doors horse trading. Of...
Current Geoengineering Attempts Briefing: SCoPEx 2021
Download PDF version: Sweden_SCoPEx_Briefing Location: Esrange Space Centre, Kiruna, Sweden Researchers in charge: Frank Keutsch (Principal Investigator), David Keith (Mission Scientist), based at Harvard University. Objectives The project stated objectives are:...
What we have learned about Biochar since 2011?
By Biofuelwatch In 2011 Biofuelwatch published Biochar: A Critical Review of Science and Policy. In that report we highlighted the uncertainties about biochar including the large land area that would be required to supply biomass for a global scale impact, the...
Geoengineering in 2019: a recap
In the last year, geoengineering proponents have been normalizing this technofix at an alarmingly rapid pace. An emboldened geo-clique has attempted to rebrand geoengineering as "climate restoration" or "climate repair" as part of a larger push. In February, we...