Increasing interest in climate engineering in recent years has led to calls by the international ... more Increasing interest in climate engineering in recent years has led to calls by the international research community for international research collaboration as well as global public engagement. But making such collaboration a reality is challenging. Here, we report the summary of a 2016 workshop on the significance and challenges of international collaboration on climate engineering research with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Because of the Climatic Change
Due to the fear of the consequences of climate change, many scientists today advocate the researc... more Due to the fear of the consequences of climate change, many scientists today advocate the research intobut not deployment of-geoengineering, large-scale technological control of the global climate, to reduce the uncertainty around its efficacy and harms. Scientists propose in particular initiating field trials of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). This paper examines how the meanings of geoengineering experimentation, specifically SAI field trials, are reconfigured in the deliberation of the lay public. To this end, we conducted focus groups with Japanese citizens in June 2015 on the geoengineering concept and SAI field trials. Our main findings are as follows: the 'climate emergency' framing compelled the lay public to accept, either willingly or reluctantly, the need for 'geoengineering research'; however, public discourse on SAI field trials was ambiguous and ambivalent, involving both tensions and dilemmas in understanding what the SAI field trial is for and about. Our results exhibit how the lay public wrestles with understanding the social, political, and ethical implications of SAI field trials in multiple dimensions, namely, accountability, controllability, predictability, and desirability. The paper argues that more clarity in the term 'geoengineering research' is needed to facilitate inclusive and pluralistic debates on geoengineering experimentation and not to preemptively arrive at a consensus that 'we need more research.' We conclude that ambivalence about both the pros and cons of geoengineering experimentation seems to be enduring; thus, instead of ignoring or repressing it, embracing ambivalence is required to keep the geoengineering debate democratic and inclusive.
Interest in climate engineering research has grown rapidly owing to the slow progress of internat... more Interest in climate engineering research has grown rapidly owing to the slow progress of international climate negotiations. As some scientists are proposing to expand research and conduct field tests, there is an emerging debate about whether and how it should proceed. It is widely accepted both by the supporters and critics that public engagement from the early stage of research is necessary. Nonetheless, most, if not all, of existing research projects of climate engineering were designed predominantly by experts. To produce socially relevant knowledge, and hence, pursue transdisciplinary research that integrates interdisciplinary research and public engagement, it is desirable for scientists to decide together with the public on what kind of research should be done. In this paper, we both as Japanese scientists and stakeholders collaboratively identify 40 socially relevant research questions on climate engineering with a particular emphasis on stratospheric aerosol injection, using a method Handled by Braden Allenby, Arizona State University, USA.
The emerging narrative of the Anthropocene has created a new space for changes in global environm... more The emerging narrative of the Anthropocene has created a new space for changes in global environmental change (GEC) science. On the one hand, there is a mounting call for changing scientific practices towards a solution-oriented transdisciplinary mode that can help achieve global sustainability. On the other hand, the scientists’ desire to avoid exceeding planetary boundaries has broken a taboo on researching solar geoengineering, a dangerous idea of deliberately cooling the Earth’s climate. Whilst to date the two features have been discussed separately, there is a possible confluence in the future. This paper explores this close yet precarious relationship between transdisciplinary GEC science and solar geoengineering in the context of Future Earth, a new international platform of Earth system science. Our aim is to understand how a transdisciplinary mode of science can navigate the contention over solar geoengineering and its course of research without breeding polarization. By se...
This paper is an attempt to contribute to the ongoing development of the conceptual groundwork of... more This paper is an attempt to contribute to the ongoing development of the conceptual groundwork of regime interplay studies by enlarging the scope to incorporate domestic politics into the groundwork. I first selectively go through the existing literature to derive implications for domestic-international interaction in the context of regime interplay, namely the 'two-level game' model, internationalization of domestic policies as bottom-up interaction, and the five behavioral pathways of regimes developed by Oran Young and Marc Levy as top-down interaction. The last one is certainly not proposed for domestic-international interaction but it provides a useful framework for thought experiment. Then I develop a preliminary conceptual model of domestic-international interaction in the context of regime interplay. A brief case study follows to demonstrate the usefulness of the conceptual model, to substantiate some of the implications derived from the existing literature, and to s...
Climate change is a worldwide threat that affects global ecosystems and human life over the next ... more Climate change is a worldwide threat that affects global ecosystems and human life over the next several centuries. While adverse effects of climate change are likely to spread out over many decades and centuries, actions to minimize such impacts are required immediately. The challenge we face is to decide on short-term actions while thinking from a long-term perspective. This brochure is a summary of the efforts by a group of individual researchers, who are leading research in Japan on climate-related issues. The backgrounds of researchers are diverse; some model climate change and its impact, while others examine its institutional aspects. The aim of the group is to start from a long-term view of climate change, and conclude by identifying key elements for shortterm actions. There have already been many studies around the world on this topic, but few of them are convincing enough in linking the long-term goal and short-term actions. Although we do not dare to say we have yet succeeded in entirely fulfilling this objective, we consider that our exercise made a good analysis of the debates on this issue. Subsequent to the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report, there is now a stronger recognition among policy makers and other stakeholders that something needs to be done to mitigate climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol were important first and second steps towards this objective. It is now time to start taking the third step in the right direction. We hope this brochure would assist policy makers in considering the potential third step. Sixteen experts are involved in creation of this brochure. I would like to mention, however, the late Dr. Tsuneyuki Morita as another expert who had contributed to stimulating research activity on this topic in Japan. Although he passed away on September 4, 2003, his desire to contribute to the global environmental protection continues to stimulate and guide the authors' thoughts.
Asia-Pacific lacks an environmental leader. Japan, a forerunner of environmental regulation in th... more Asia-Pacific lacks an environmental leader. Japan, a forerunner of environmental regulation in the 1970s, started to engage in active environmental diplomacy in the post-Cold War era by hosting conferences of parties to multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as providing a massive amount of environmental aid. Then, in the 2000s, Japan’s initiatives became substantially weakened and have gained a negative international reputation as the country took a considerably passive position to the Paris Agreement, filed many reservations to the CITES listing decisions, and withdrew from the International Whaling Commission. This article explores, through six brief case studies, the factors and structures that systemically impede Japan’s environmental leadership and norm internalization. It highlights the constraining f...
The Earth System Governance project is a global research alliance that explores novel, effective ... more The Earth System Governance project is a global research alliance that explores novel, effective governance mechanisms to cope with the current transitions in the biogeochemical systems of the planet. A decade after its inception, this article offers an overview of the project's new research framework
Responding to growing international political interest in the potential of carbon capture and sto... more Responding to growing international political interest in the potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to contribute to climate change mitigation, multiple CCS demonstration projects of various scales are emerging globally. A fully integrated power-plant with CCS has not yet been demonstrated at scale, and acknowledgement of the scale of learning that still must occur for the technology to advance toward deployment has resulted in calls from multiple constituents for more CCS demonstration projects. Among these demonstration projects, expectations for learning and knowledge-sharing structures vary considerably and attention to different approaches to facilitate learning has been minimal. Through a comparison of the structure, framing and socio-political context of three different CCS demonstration projects, this paper explores the complexity of social learning associated with demonstration projects. Variety in expectations of the demonstration projects' objectives, learning processes, information sharing mechanisms, public engagement initiatives, financing and collaborative partnerships are highlighted. The comparison shows that multiple factors influence the learning in CCS demonstration projects, including the process of building support for the project, the governance context and the framing of the project justification. This comparative analysis highlights the importance of integrating careful consideration of framing and social learning into CCS demonstration project planning.
This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climat... more This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. Please check back later for the full article.Climate engineering, a set of techniques proposed to directly intervene in the climate system to reduce risks from climate change, presents many novel governance challenges. Solar radiation management (SRM), particularly stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), is one of the most discussed proposals. It has been gaining interest, and its pertinence as a potential option for responding to the threats from climate change may be set to increase because of the long-term temperature goal (well below 2 ˚C or 1.5 ˚C) inscribed in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Initial research has demonstrated that SAI would cool the climate system and reduce climate risks in many aspects, though it is mired in unknown environmental risks and various sociopolitical ramifications. The proposed techniques are in the initial stage of research and development, provid...
This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in ... more This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in Japan, New Zealand, the USA and Sweden. In total, 23 qualitative focus group interviews of 136 participants were conducted. The analyses considered sense-making strategies and heuristics among the focus group participants and identified commonalities and variations in the data, exploring participants' initial and spontaneous reactions to climate engineering and to several recurrent arguments that feature in scientific and public debate (e.g. climate emergency). We found that, despite this study's wide geographical scope, heterogeneous focus group compositions, and the use of different moderators, common themes emerged. Participants made sense of climate engineering in similar ways, for example, through context-dependent analogies and metaphorical Climatic Change
This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in ... more This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in Japan, New Zealand, the USA and Sweden. In total, 23 qualitative focus group interviews of 136 participants were conducted. The analyses considered sense-making strategies and heuristics among the focus group participants and identified commonalities and variations in the data, exploring participants' initial and spontaneous reactions to climate engineering and to several recurrent arguments that feature in scientific and public debate (e.g. climate emergency). We found that, despite this study's wide geographical scope, heterogeneous focus group compositions, and the use of different moderators, common themes emerged. Participants made sense of climate engineering in similar ways, for example, through context-dependent analogies and metaphorical Climatic Change descriptions. With few exceptions, participants largely expressed negative views of large-scale deliberate intervention...
Increasing interest in climate engineering in recent years has led to calls by the international ... more Increasing interest in climate engineering in recent years has led to calls by the international research community for international research collaboration as well as global public engagement. But making such collaboration a reality is challenging. Here, we report the summary of a 2016 workshop on the significance and challenges of international collaboration on climate engineering research with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Because of the Climatic Change
Due to the fear of the consequences of climate change, many scientists today advocate the researc... more Due to the fear of the consequences of climate change, many scientists today advocate the research intobut not deployment of-geoengineering, large-scale technological control of the global climate, to reduce the uncertainty around its efficacy and harms. Scientists propose in particular initiating field trials of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). This paper examines how the meanings of geoengineering experimentation, specifically SAI field trials, are reconfigured in the deliberation of the lay public. To this end, we conducted focus groups with Japanese citizens in June 2015 on the geoengineering concept and SAI field trials. Our main findings are as follows: the 'climate emergency' framing compelled the lay public to accept, either willingly or reluctantly, the need for 'geoengineering research'; however, public discourse on SAI field trials was ambiguous and ambivalent, involving both tensions and dilemmas in understanding what the SAI field trial is for and about. Our results exhibit how the lay public wrestles with understanding the social, political, and ethical implications of SAI field trials in multiple dimensions, namely, accountability, controllability, predictability, and desirability. The paper argues that more clarity in the term 'geoengineering research' is needed to facilitate inclusive and pluralistic debates on geoengineering experimentation and not to preemptively arrive at a consensus that 'we need more research.' We conclude that ambivalence about both the pros and cons of geoengineering experimentation seems to be enduring; thus, instead of ignoring or repressing it, embracing ambivalence is required to keep the geoengineering debate democratic and inclusive.
Interest in climate engineering research has grown rapidly owing to the slow progress of internat... more Interest in climate engineering research has grown rapidly owing to the slow progress of international climate negotiations. As some scientists are proposing to expand research and conduct field tests, there is an emerging debate about whether and how it should proceed. It is widely accepted both by the supporters and critics that public engagement from the early stage of research is necessary. Nonetheless, most, if not all, of existing research projects of climate engineering were designed predominantly by experts. To produce socially relevant knowledge, and hence, pursue transdisciplinary research that integrates interdisciplinary research and public engagement, it is desirable for scientists to decide together with the public on what kind of research should be done. In this paper, we both as Japanese scientists and stakeholders collaboratively identify 40 socially relevant research questions on climate engineering with a particular emphasis on stratospheric aerosol injection, using a method Handled by Braden Allenby, Arizona State University, USA.
The emerging narrative of the Anthropocene has created a new space for changes in global environm... more The emerging narrative of the Anthropocene has created a new space for changes in global environmental change (GEC) science. On the one hand, there is a mounting call for changing scientific practices towards a solution-oriented transdisciplinary mode that can help achieve global sustainability. On the other hand, the scientists’ desire to avoid exceeding planetary boundaries has broken a taboo on researching solar geoengineering, a dangerous idea of deliberately cooling the Earth’s climate. Whilst to date the two features have been discussed separately, there is a possible confluence in the future. This paper explores this close yet precarious relationship between transdisciplinary GEC science and solar geoengineering in the context of Future Earth, a new international platform of Earth system science. Our aim is to understand how a transdisciplinary mode of science can navigate the contention over solar geoengineering and its course of research without breeding polarization. By se...
This paper is an attempt to contribute to the ongoing development of the conceptual groundwork of... more This paper is an attempt to contribute to the ongoing development of the conceptual groundwork of regime interplay studies by enlarging the scope to incorporate domestic politics into the groundwork. I first selectively go through the existing literature to derive implications for domestic-international interaction in the context of regime interplay, namely the 'two-level game' model, internationalization of domestic policies as bottom-up interaction, and the five behavioral pathways of regimes developed by Oran Young and Marc Levy as top-down interaction. The last one is certainly not proposed for domestic-international interaction but it provides a useful framework for thought experiment. Then I develop a preliminary conceptual model of domestic-international interaction in the context of regime interplay. A brief case study follows to demonstrate the usefulness of the conceptual model, to substantiate some of the implications derived from the existing literature, and to s...
Climate change is a worldwide threat that affects global ecosystems and human life over the next ... more Climate change is a worldwide threat that affects global ecosystems and human life over the next several centuries. While adverse effects of climate change are likely to spread out over many decades and centuries, actions to minimize such impacts are required immediately. The challenge we face is to decide on short-term actions while thinking from a long-term perspective. This brochure is a summary of the efforts by a group of individual researchers, who are leading research in Japan on climate-related issues. The backgrounds of researchers are diverse; some model climate change and its impact, while others examine its institutional aspects. The aim of the group is to start from a long-term view of climate change, and conclude by identifying key elements for shortterm actions. There have already been many studies around the world on this topic, but few of them are convincing enough in linking the long-term goal and short-term actions. Although we do not dare to say we have yet succeeded in entirely fulfilling this objective, we consider that our exercise made a good analysis of the debates on this issue. Subsequent to the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report, there is now a stronger recognition among policy makers and other stakeholders that something needs to be done to mitigate climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol were important first and second steps towards this objective. It is now time to start taking the third step in the right direction. We hope this brochure would assist policy makers in considering the potential third step. Sixteen experts are involved in creation of this brochure. I would like to mention, however, the late Dr. Tsuneyuki Morita as another expert who had contributed to stimulating research activity on this topic in Japan. Although he passed away on September 4, 2003, his desire to contribute to the global environmental protection continues to stimulate and guide the authors' thoughts.
Asia-Pacific lacks an environmental leader. Japan, a forerunner of environmental regulation in th... more Asia-Pacific lacks an environmental leader. Japan, a forerunner of environmental regulation in the 1970s, started to engage in active environmental diplomacy in the post-Cold War era by hosting conferences of parties to multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as providing a massive amount of environmental aid. Then, in the 2000s, Japan’s initiatives became substantially weakened and have gained a negative international reputation as the country took a considerably passive position to the Paris Agreement, filed many reservations to the CITES listing decisions, and withdrew from the International Whaling Commission. This article explores, through six brief case studies, the factors and structures that systemically impede Japan’s environmental leadership and norm internalization. It highlights the constraining f...
The Earth System Governance project is a global research alliance that explores novel, effective ... more The Earth System Governance project is a global research alliance that explores novel, effective governance mechanisms to cope with the current transitions in the biogeochemical systems of the planet. A decade after its inception, this article offers an overview of the project's new research framework
Responding to growing international political interest in the potential of carbon capture and sto... more Responding to growing international political interest in the potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to contribute to climate change mitigation, multiple CCS demonstration projects of various scales are emerging globally. A fully integrated power-plant with CCS has not yet been demonstrated at scale, and acknowledgement of the scale of learning that still must occur for the technology to advance toward deployment has resulted in calls from multiple constituents for more CCS demonstration projects. Among these demonstration projects, expectations for learning and knowledge-sharing structures vary considerably and attention to different approaches to facilitate learning has been minimal. Through a comparison of the structure, framing and socio-political context of three different CCS demonstration projects, this paper explores the complexity of social learning associated with demonstration projects. Variety in expectations of the demonstration projects' objectives, learning processes, information sharing mechanisms, public engagement initiatives, financing and collaborative partnerships are highlighted. The comparison shows that multiple factors influence the learning in CCS demonstration projects, including the process of building support for the project, the governance context and the framing of the project justification. This comparative analysis highlights the importance of integrating careful consideration of framing and social learning into CCS demonstration project planning.
This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climat... more This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. Please check back later for the full article.Climate engineering, a set of techniques proposed to directly intervene in the climate system to reduce risks from climate change, presents many novel governance challenges. Solar radiation management (SRM), particularly stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), is one of the most discussed proposals. It has been gaining interest, and its pertinence as a potential option for responding to the threats from climate change may be set to increase because of the long-term temperature goal (well below 2 ˚C or 1.5 ˚C) inscribed in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Initial research has demonstrated that SAI would cool the climate system and reduce climate risks in many aspects, though it is mired in unknown environmental risks and various sociopolitical ramifications. The proposed techniques are in the initial stage of research and development, provid...
This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in ... more This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in Japan, New Zealand, the USA and Sweden. In total, 23 qualitative focus group interviews of 136 participants were conducted. The analyses considered sense-making strategies and heuristics among the focus group participants and identified commonalities and variations in the data, exploring participants' initial and spontaneous reactions to climate engineering and to several recurrent arguments that feature in scientific and public debate (e.g. climate emergency). We found that, despite this study's wide geographical scope, heterogeneous focus group compositions, and the use of different moderators, common themes emerged. Participants made sense of climate engineering in similar ways, for example, through context-dependent analogies and metaphorical Climatic Change
This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in ... more This study explores sense-making about climate engineering among lay focus group participants in Japan, New Zealand, the USA and Sweden. In total, 23 qualitative focus group interviews of 136 participants were conducted. The analyses considered sense-making strategies and heuristics among the focus group participants and identified commonalities and variations in the data, exploring participants' initial and spontaneous reactions to climate engineering and to several recurrent arguments that feature in scientific and public debate (e.g. climate emergency). We found that, despite this study's wide geographical scope, heterogeneous focus group compositions, and the use of different moderators, common themes emerged. Participants made sense of climate engineering in similar ways, for example, through context-dependent analogies and metaphorical Climatic Change descriptions. With few exceptions, participants largely expressed negative views of large-scale deliberate intervention...
ABSTRACT The future role of carbon sinks with reference to the Kyoto Protocol depends significant... more ABSTRACT The future role of carbon sinks with reference to the Kyoto Protocol depends significantly on developing an international consensus on carbon-sink assessment and carbon accounting. A clear and practical approach is needed that allows both the scientific community and policy-makers to construct a viable operational framework. This article proposes that a new strategy be developed for carbon-sink assessment based on full carbon accounting (FCA) alongside a separate political tool for carbon accounting. This approach is derived from the experience of the European critical loads (CL) concept, which seeks to quantify levels of pollutants (such as sulfur) that can be absorbed by the environment without causing ecological harm. Crucial to the implementation of such a strategy are robust institutional settings, such as an internationally coordinated monitoring system, open and fair access to the assessment processes, and international research cooperation programs for addressing associated problems of carbon-sink activities.
hybrid domain of science and diplomacy in a given problem with regulatory science. Therefore, we ... more hybrid domain of science and diplomacy in a given problem with regulatory science. Therefore, we need, in order to enhance the integrity and productivity of diplomacy-oriented science, an appropriate model which stabilizes the boundary between science and diplomacy, facilitates better understanding of diplomacy-oriented science, and, hence, mobilizes effective scientific knowledge into the diplomatic process. This kind of science could be named as 'diplomatory science' 1 and, first, I scrutinize it by comparison with regulatory science. Although it may not have been Jasanoff's intention to construct a model of influential advisory science in the hybrid domain of science and diplomacy, regulatory science is an excellent reference case to pursue the task. Afterwards, the European Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution regime (LRTAP) is elaborated to develop the diplomatory science model. The regime is a good starting point since it has been hailed as having a successful science-based negotiation process. 2 It would be better for developing the model to begin with the most successful case, and then successively turn to less successful cases, which goes beyond the task of this paper. Comparing diplomatory science with regulatory science The most clear-cut difference between regulatory and diplomatory science is their objectives: 'what for is scientific knowledge produced?'. The objective of the former is 'to produce "techniques, processes and artifacts" that further the task of policy development'. 3 Formulating after regulatory science, objective of the latter is 'to produce techniques, processes and artifacts that are useful and significant in the furtherance of diplomatic solutions'. 4 This difference in the objective is the source of all differences depicted below. One of the most remarkable dissimilarities between regulatory and diplomatory science is the emphasis on the courts and its judicial procedures for gauging the fulfillment of required accountability of the agencies. The courts are playing a significant and enforcing role in regulatory science (Jasanoff, 1990), in other words, in the negotiations of "contested boundaries" 5 between science and policy. As Jasanoff writes, "[i]f the record suggests that a difference of opinion between administrators and experts involved substantial policy considerations … courts should not hesitate to probe beneath the surface of an advisory committee's recommendation and, if necessary, to overrule it". 6 The international society is not armed with this kind of judicial review procedures; moreover, it often lacks the capability of enforcing compliance with international law. This means that states cannot bring a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, for instance, to solve the so-called 'Chapter 8 Problem' of the Second Assessment Report (SAR) by the 1 "Diplomatory science" is newly coined following 'regulatory science' and have been suggested by
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