header3.png
 

Site Search

 

 

Asilomar International Conference on Climate Intervention Technologies:

Minimizing the Potential Risk of Research to

Counter-balance Climate Change and its Impacts

March 22-26, 2010

Asilomar Conference Center

Pacific Grove, California USA

Agenda

Monday, March 22

3:00 - 6:00 PM: Arrival and Registration
(registration continues through meeting)
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Dinner (Crocker Hall)
7:30 - 8:00 PM: Plenary Session (Merrill Hall)
Welcome and Introduction to the Conference:
Michael MacCracken, Climate Institute, and Margaret Leinen, Climate Response Fund
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Insights from Experiences with Guidelines and Oversight
Session Chair: Jane Long, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Presentations:
David Winickoff, University of California Berkeley: Lessons from Experiences with Research Guidelines in Medical and Other Fields
Scott Barrett, Columbia University: Discussant

Tuesday, March 23

7:30 - 8:30 AM Breakfast (Crocker Hall)
8:30 - 8:45 AM Conference Opening (Merrill Hall)
Michael MacCracken, Climate Institute
8:45 - 12:00 PM: Plenary Session: The Physical Aspects of Climate Intervention (Merrill Hall)
Session chair: Richard Somerville, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Presentations:
1. John Shepherd FRS, University of Southampton: Introduction and Overview of Proposed Approaches to Climate Intervention
2. Phil Rasch, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Model Analyses of the Potential for Aerosols in the Troposphere or Stratosphere to Limit Incoming Solar Radiation
3. David Keith, University of Calgary: Experimenting with Solar Radiance Engineering: Possibilities, Limits and their Policy Implications
4. Richard Lampitt, National Oceanography Centre: The Potential for and Challenges of Enhancing Ocean Uptake of Carbon
5. Jerry Melillo, Marine Biological Laboratory: The Potential for and Challenges of Storing More Carbon in the Terrestrial Biosphere
6. David Keith, Carbon Engineering:
Rob Socolow, Princeton University: Direct Capture of CO2 from Air with Chemicals
12:00 - 1:00 PM Lunch (Crocker Hall)
1:30 - 5:30 PM Plenary Session: The Social Context of Climate Intervention (Merrill Hall)
Session Chair: Diana Liverman, University of Arizona
Presentations:
1. Catherine Redgwell, University College, London: The International Legal Framework for Climate Intervention
2. Oran Young, University of California Santa Barbara: Governing Climate Intervention: Lessons from the Study of International Institutions
3. David Morrow, University of Chicago: Ethical principles for trials of climate intervention technologies
4. Steve Smith, PNNL: The economic context for climate intervention
Break
5. Scott Barrett, Columbia University: Geoengineering: Incentives and Institutions
6. David Victor, University of California San Diego: Regulating the Testing of Geoengineering Systems
7. Granger Morgan, Carnegie-Mellon University: Decision-making Frameworks for Geoengineering Policies

5:45 PM
Group Photograph
6:00 - 7:00 PM Dinner (Crocker Hall)
7:30 - 9:30 PM Evening Plenary Discussion: Plans for National and International Research Programs and Coordination (Merrill Hall)
Session Chair: Tom Lovejoy, Heinz Center
Panel:
James Wilsdon, Royal Society: UK/EU Policy and Investment in Geoengineering Research
Tim Persons, US Government Accountability Office
Graeme Pearman, Monash University
Pablo Suarez, Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre

Wednesday, March 24

7:30 - 8:30 AM Breakfast (Crocker Hall)
8:30 - 9:45 AM Plenary Session: Thoughts on the Development of Guidelines for Research (Merrill Hall)
Session Chair: Graeme Pearman, Monash University
1. Stephen Schneider, Stanford University: Geoengineering: Savior, Stopgap or Non-starter?
2. Steve Rayner, Oxford University: Draft Principles for the Conduct of Geoengineering Research
3. Michael MacCracken, Climate Institute: Introduction to the Wednesday and Thursday Morning Breakout Groups and Plenary Discussions
9:45 AM
10:00 - 12:00 PM Breakout Groups: Guideline issues Arising from Consideration of the Scientific Research Needed for the Various Approaches to Climate Intervention
Breakout Group A (Merrill Hall): Research Needed to Evaluate Approaches for Solar Radiation Management in the Stratosphere and Above Aimed at Moderating Global Climate Change
Breakout session leaders:
Tom Wigley, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Ted Parson, University of Michigan
Rapporteurs: Ben Kravitz and Kate Ricke
Specific Approaches/Objectives for Breakout Group Consideration
- Stratospheric injection of sulfate or other materials (global or regional coverage)
- Satellite deflection of solar radiation
- Others?
Presentation: Alan Robock, Rutgers University, "A Proposal for Standardized Geoengineering Experiments for CMIP5"
Breakout Group B (Toyon Room):
Research Needed to Evaluate Approaches for Solar Radiation Management in the Troposphere and at the Surface Aimed at Moderating Specific Aspects of Global Warming
Breakout session leaders:
Roger Barry, University of Colorado Boulder
Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund
Rapporteurs: Ashley Mercer and Rachel Hauser
Specific Approaches/Objectives for Breakout Group Consideration:
- Cloud brightening (global or regional coverage via sea salt or DMS)
- Sulfate aerosols (regional coverage)
- Ocean brightening
- Arctic intervention
- Hurricane modification
- Others?
Breakout Group C (Scripps Room): Research Needed to Evaluate Approaches for Increasing the Uptake and Storage of Carbon in the Ocean (Ocean Carbon Capture and Storage) and Limiting Ocean Acidification
Breakout session leaders:
Richard Lampitt, National Oceanography Centre
Chris Vivian, Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Rapporteurs: Jesse Reynolds and George Collins
Specific Approaches/Objectives for Breakout Group Consideration:
- Ocean fertilization
- Ocean alkanization
- Accelerated weathering
- Deep ocean storage of carbon dioxide
- Others?
Breakout Group D (Heather Hall): Research Needed to Evaluate Approaches for Increasing the Uptake and Storage of Carbon Below the Surface and in the Terrestrial Biosphere
Breakout session leaders:
Tom Lovejoy, Heinz Center
Diana Liverman, University of Arizona
Rapporteurs: Gabrielle Wong-Parodi and Bidisha Banerjee
Specific Approaches/Objectives for Breakout Group Consideration:
- Increased uptake by and storage in terrestrial vegetation and soils
- Biochar
- Others?
Breakout Group E (Aciaia Room): Research Needed to Evaluate Approaches for Direct Removal of Greenhouse Gases from the Atmosphere
Breakout session leaders:
Jane Long, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Stephen Seidel, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Rapporteurs: Noah Bonnheim and Amanda Reynolds
Specific Approaches/Objectives for Breakout Group Consideration:
- Carbon scrubbing
- Methane removal
- Halocarbon removal
- Geological storage
- Storage in concrete
- Others?
12:00 - 1:00 PM Lunch (Crocker Hall)
1:30 - 5:30 PM Parallel Plenary Sessions
Guidelines Relating to Ensuring the Scientific Quality of Research on Climate Intervention Technologies, with a primary focus on the scientific aspects of the issue.
Group 1 (Merrill Hall): Solar Radiation Management and other similar approaches to reduce energy addition
Session Co-chairs: John Shepherd, University of Southampton, and Richard Somerville, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Rapporteurs: Rachel Hauser and Ashley Merce
Brief presentations by the leaders of the breakout groups A and B
General discussion
Group 2 (Heather Hall): Carbon Dioxide Reduction and related approaches to reduce climate forcing
Session Co-chairs: Tom Lovejoy, Heinz Center, and Richard Lampitt, National Oceanography Centre
Rapporteurs: Jesse Reynolds and Noah Bonnheim
Brief presentations by the leaders of the breakout groups C, D and E
General Discussion
6:00 - 7:00 PM Dinner (Crocker Hall)
7:15 - 8:45 PM Evening Plenary Discussion:
Climate change, public attitudes, the media, and insights on implications for public discourse on climate intervention/geoengineering (Merrill Hall)
Session Chair: Diana Liverman, University of Arizona
Presentations:
Max Boykoff, University of Colorado: Media Representations of Climate Change and Geoengineering
Tony Leiserowitz, Yale University: Climate Change and Geoengineering in the Public Mind
General Discussion
8:45 PM Conference reception (Merrill Hall)
Hosted by Climate Response Fund

 

Thursday, March 25

7:30 - 8:30 AM Breakfast (Crocker Hall)
8:30 - 9:45 AM Breakout Groups
Breakout Group A (Merrill Hall):
Mock presentation of proposed experimental protocol for stratospheric or higher SRM approaches to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (so an entity with extensive global membership and potentially capable of considering global risk-risk tradeoffs).
Breakout Session Leaders:
Ted Parson, University of Michigan
Tom Wigley, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Rapporteurs: Ben Kravitz and Kate Ricke
Breakout Group B (Toyon Room):
Mock presentation of proposed experimental protocol to limit arctic climate change to the Arctic Council (for issues relating to the cryosphere—so bringing in perspectives of indigenous peoples, etc.) or the Organization of American States (for issues relating to potential regional intervention relating to hurricane moderation, redirection of storms, etc.), again seeking to identify issues arising in risk-risk evaluations.
Breakout Session Leaders:
Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund
Roger Barry, University of Colorado Boulder
Rapporteurs: Ashley Mercer and Rachel Hauser
Breakout Group C (Scripps Room):
Mock presentation of proposed experimental protocol to the London Convention on Dumping and/or the Convention on Biological Diversity to raise issues relating to confirmation of storage and disruption.

Chris Vivian, Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Richard Lampitt, National Oceanography Centre
Rapporteurs: Jesse Reynolds and George Collins
Breakout Group D (Heather Room):
Mock presentation of proposed experimental protocol to a national environmental regulatory agency to get at issues that might be included in the guidelines relating to the comparative uses of land, water, biomass, and other resources to enhance carbon storage.
Breakout Session Leaders:
Diana Liverman, University of Arizona
Tom Lovejoy, Heinz Center
Rapporteurs: Gabrielle Wong-Parodi and Bidisha Banerjee
Breakout Group E (Acacia Room):
Mock presentation of proposed experimental protocol to the US Environmental Protection Agency to draw forth issues relating to approaches aimed at direct removal of greenhouse gases and permanent storage or destruction.
Breakout Session Leaders:
Stephen Seidel, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Jane Long, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Rapporteurs: Noah Bonnheim and Amanda Reynolds
10:30 - 11:00 PM Break
11:00 - 12:00 PM Plenary Discussion of Breakout Group Results (Merrill Hall)

Presentation:

James Fleming, Colby College: What Counts as Knowledge?  The Risks of Not Reading History (Full text)

12:00 - 1:00 PM Lunch (Crocker Hall)
1:30 - 5:30 PM General plenary discussion of guideline issues related to governance and societal interests, including decision processes, public opinion and communication, economics and societal perspectives. (Merrill Hall)
Session Co-Chairs:
Diana Liverman, University of Arizona
Michael MacCracken, Climate Institute
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Dinner (Crocker Hall)
7:30 - 9:30 PM Plenary Session: The possible role of geoengineering in addressing climate change (Merrill Hall)
Session Chair: Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund
Presentations:
Rob Socolow, Princeton University: Thoughts about Asilomar 2.2
Tom Wigley, University of Adelaide: Geoengineering: Making the Difference Between Realistic and Unrealistic Mitigation Goals

Friday, March 26

7:30 - 8:30 AM Breakfast (Crocker Hall)
8:30 - 11:00 AM Plenary Session(Merrill Hall)
Plenary consideration statement from the workshop about the discussions at the workshop, areas of agreement and not, areas meriting further discussion (including provision for expressing differences of viewpoint).
Session Co-Chairs:
John Shepherd, University of Southampton
Michael MacCracken, Climate Institute
11:00 AM Conference closes