The Battle at UNEA 6 – African and other developing countries rejecting Solar Geoengineering
At the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 6) negotiations in Nairobi, February 2024 the group of all African countries together with several other developing countries demonstrated major leadership that helped reset the debate around solar geoengineering.
Switzerland had tabled a resolution that risked undermining the de facto moratorium on geoengineering at the Convention on Biological Diversity, and legitimising solar radiation manipulation.
African negotiators, supported by several other developing countries, including Mexico, Colombia and Pacific Islands re-framed the conversation by emphasising the precautionary approach, calling for a mechanism to improve access to information and insisting that the African Ministers (ACMEN) call for an International Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement be recognised in the resolution.
This clear position was at odds with the US, Saudi-Arabia, Canada and Japan who wanted to ensure the resolution enabled research and development. Faced with such polarised positions Switzerland in the end withdrew the resolution.
This was a victory for common sense, and set the ground for building further political support for a Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement.
Fortunately, Africa is resisting, particularly on solar geoengineering. The AMCEN decision by all African Environment Ministers from August 2023 provides global leadership in its clear call for “a global governance mechanism for the non-use of solar geoengineering”, laying the groundwork for widespread adoption of the International Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement. This significant decision by African ministers was followed by a similar resolution by the European Parliament in November 2023 calling on the EU Commission and its Member States “to initiate a non-use agreement at international level, in accordance with the precautionary principle and in the absence of evidence of its safety and a full global consensus on its acceptability.”
African countries are well-placed to play a leading role in building political momentum alongside for example similarly-critical European countries and Mexico (which recently banned all forms of solar geoengineering following the Make Sunsets commercial and unauthorised release of SRM particles from its territory).