Why this risky climate fix lacks red tape

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Mar 25, 2024 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell The sun sets over Phoenix during a heat wave last July. | Matt York/AP Blocking the sun’s rays to limit global warming requires less paperwork than your income taxes. Just submit a one-page form to the U.S. government 10 days before you do it. That’s the only federal oversight for solar geoengineering, a corner of science long considered too dangerous to try — or even study. But experts argue the meager 1970s-era reporting requirement needs a major overhaul to reflect the growing interest in fiddling with the weather, writes Robin Bravender. Academics and researchers are petitioning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to beef up its rules as interest in solar radiation modification grows. Scientists and businesses are increasingly eyeing engineered ways to cool the Earth as countries fail to slash enough carbon to meaningfully slow global warming. And small-scale operations are already underway — with little oversight and even less transparency. “There’s no governance on the international level, national governance, there’s no state governance, there’s nothing,” said David Bookbinder, a longtime climate attorney who previously served as the Sierra Club’s chief climate counsel. “I am more concerned about this than anything else.” The risks are huge, from changing weather patterns to damaging the ozone. Scientists also worry about “termination shock,” a rapid and catastrophic rise in temperatures that can happen if a large-scale geoengineering project stops prematurely. Large-scale geoengineering has long been mired in controversy and struggled to take off amid arguments the field should be considered a science of last resort that could do more harm than good. Harvard University announced last week that it ended a solar radiation modification research project after years of setbacks and opposition from critics. And earlier this month, a proposal to expand research on solar geoengineering was withdrawn from consideration at the United Nations Environment Assembly after nations failed to agree on an approach to the knotty issue. But small-scale geoengineering experiments are already happening. A company called Make Sunsets caused a stir last year after launching weather balloons in Mexico that deposited sunlight-reflecting sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere. The company — just one in a small but growing sector — ceased operations in the country after the Mexican government said it had not been notified and announced it would ban solar geoengineering. Make Sunsets has since moved its operations to Nevada. CEO Luke Iseman submitted the required paperwork to NOAA only after it began launches and the agency communicated the rule to him, Robin writes. The company’s operations may be small, but its ambitions are not. Under project purpose, Iseman wrote: “Reduce average global temperature.” Location? “All of Earth.”   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. And folks, let's keep it classy.   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today on POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Josh Siegel sits down with Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) to discuss GOP views on climate, the role of Donald Trump as party leader and what Graves would do in permitting negotiations with Democrats. Power Centers Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News (graphic); Willi Heidelbach/PxHere (turbines); metamorworks/istock (cyber overlay) The future of energy: 3 questions to answer Attendees painted vastly different pictures of the nation's energy future at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston last week. Some envisioned an abundant supply of low-carbon power, while others predicted an energy mix still dominated by fossil fuels. Shelby Webb and Brian Dabbs break down the key questions whose answers will shape the mix: Will the election affect energy investments? How will AI change the energy sector? And will minerals production keep pace with the energy transition? Oil giants reject Biden and Trump Oil and gas executives attending the CERAWeek conference disparaged the Biden administration for regulating their greenhouse gas emissions and its pause on new gas export permits, writes Ben Lefebvre. But many also said they fear a return to the volatile international relations and idiosyncratic management style former President Donald Trump brought to his previous four years in office. EU to engage China on climate change Four European Union climate diplomats will travel to Beijing next month to meet China's new climate envoy, Stuart Lau, Zia Weise and Karl Mathiesen write. Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands will send their top climate diplomats to join the trip, which officials are describing as an unprecedented effort by the EU to build a multinational diplomatic track to engage China on climate change. In Other News Hot & Toxic: This ad campaign uses humor to urge Americans to ditch natural gas. AI boom: Big tech’s latest obsession is finding enough energy.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Kennedy said in a statement that he sold his stake in December. | Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who built his public profile as an environmental activist and crusader against polluters, earned tens of thousands of dollars from an oil and gas company. Oral histories produced by Columbia University document how climate legislation took a back seat to President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. A brewing legal battle against the Biden administration's latest climate rule for cars has the potential to go all the way to the Supreme Court. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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