In March 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) issued a report concluding that, given the urgency of the risks posed by climate change, the U.S. should pursue a research program for solar geoengineering, particularly SAI, in coordination with other nations, subject to governance, and alongside a robust portfolio of climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Press release.
In April 2022, a working group of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published Climate Change 2022 which devotes pages 1489 to 1494 to reviewing the issues and research on solar radiation management, including SAI.
In mid 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), as directed by Congress, announced that it is developing a five-year scientific assessment of solar and other rapid climate interventions in the context of near-term climate risks and hazards. Congress required that the report include: “(1) the definition of goals in relevant areas of scientific research; (2) capabilities required to model, analyze, observe, and monitor atmospheric composition; (3) climate impacts and the Earth’s radiation budget; and (4) the coordination of Federal research and investments to deliver this assessment to manage near-term climate risk and research in climate intervention.” Commentators expect all of the funding to be directed to SAI research, with announcements in 2023. News Report.
In October 2022, with support from the United Nations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) based in Geneva, Switzerland, published its Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022 and reported that “an unintended consequence of SAI is that it could also affect stratospheric temperatures, circulation and ozone production and destruction rates and transport” presenting increased risk from ozone reduction. “SAI impacts on total column ozone (TCO) are regionally and seasonally dependent and result in ozone reduction in spring over Antarctica due to the increase in chemical ozone depletion.”