Preparing for Climate Intervention Decision Making in the Global South: A Role for Canada and India

Countries in the Global South are incentivized through funding schemes, such as the Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative (SRMGI) Decimal Fund, to invest in pathways that could lead toward justification for deployment of climate intervention technologies, but without adequate consideration of the social dimensions of engagement in climate intervention research. When considering the pressing problem of climate change, and the pressing need for access to innovative, clean and sustainable technologies, it is clear that simply funding basic climate engineering modelling will not be effective in supporting climate intervention experimentation. This lack of inclusiveness across disciplines is unfortunate because citizen participation and co-construction of knowledge require an appropriate and thorough study of social science.

The paper recommends a three-step process to remedy this oversight: Canada and India could engage with a leading African country to consider what participation in climate intervention research would mean in their context and to develop a view point to engage on the topic at an international level; encourage Canadian and Indian counterparts to conduct national policy discussions on climate intervention research; and increase public awareness of climate intervention technologies, coupled with democratic participatory governance.

It is important to ensure responsible knowledge creation and action. Such arrangements can guard against undesirable research outcomes and ensure that research efforts, considered collectively, are inclusive, anticipatory and guided by societal needs and concerns.

This paper is part of the India-Canada Track 1.5 Dialogue. View the first, second and third part of this four-part paper series.