Practical management challenges of stratospheric aerosol injection

Growing interest in using stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) to reduce the impacts of global warming has been matched by growing concerns about the approach. While much has been written about the challenges of governing SAI research and deployment, there has been little discussion of the challenges posed by governance and operational activities during deployment. This paper illustrates practical management challenges using three U.S. agencies (EPA, NASA, and NOAA) as examples. Although SAI deployment is expected to be governed by international institutions, implementation will require actions by domestic agencies within participating nations. Those agencies, regardless of country, are likely to face comparable national-level challenges, including accountability, transparency, expertise, legal challenges, and political pressures. Scenarios and assessments for SAI deployment will also pose technical challenges. Rapid development and evaluation of scenarios and assessments will be needed to examine unexpected conditions or new technologies and inform effective response decisions during deployment. This paper briefly examines proposed SAI governance approaches, identifies key relevant characteristics of the three agencies, and presents insights into those agencies’ relevance to SAI management and some of the challenges posed in putting governance into practice, and draws additional insights from small-scale outdoor studies. Implications for governance include the need for a permanent SAI management organization with broad expertise, insulating management from inappropriate political interference, and operating within national legal frameworks and political pressures. Research implications include the need for scenarios and assessments specific to SAI and gaining a better understanding of national legal and political environments.