Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Reverse emissions or influence solar radiation: Is “geoengineering” worthwhile, feasible and if so, at what price?
SWISS ACADEMIES FACTSHEETS, VOL. 13. NO. 4, 2018
The aim of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, if possible even 1.5 degrees Celsius. Various scenarios show that very great efforts are necessary to achieve these goals through emission reduction measures alone. This motivates the search for additional solutions. Technical interventions in the climate system, often referred to by collective terms such as “geoengineering” or “climate intervention”, are therefore discussed. However, most of these measures are associated with costs, risks and undesirable side effects that have so far been very difficult to assess. While some measures only exist in theory, others have been tested in small format, but nevertheless there is a lack of knowledge about the effects of an application on the required large scale. Since the measures would not have the same effects in different parts of the world, ethical questions of global and regional justice are also particularly important and should be covered by international regulations.
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (2018) Reverse emissions or influence solar radiation: Is “geoengineering” worthwhile, feasible and if so, at what price? Swiss Academies Factsheets 13 (4).
Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations: A Guide for Reflection and Workshop Facilitation
Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The present guide aims to stimulate reflections on, and discussions of, various different roles that scientists perform.
European Academies Science Advisory Council EASAC
Changing wildfires: policy options for a fire-literate and fire-adapted Europe
There is an increased probability of extreme fires, due mainly to climate change (droughts and declining summer precipitation), rural depopulation, and land-use changes. To respond to this, a new European Academies report is calling for an urgent shift in wildfire policy – from reactive fire suppression to proactive, risk-based land management.
Already today, wildfires burn half a million hectares in the EU yearly on average, i.e. nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. While the Mediterranean remains the highest-risk region, the report warns that continental, alpine, and boreal regions must also prepare for a new era of fire. Instead of focussing on fire suppression and emergency response, the report advocates for an integrated EU framework for landscape fire-risk governance that prioritises prevention alongside these three elements: climate and land-use policies that focus on restoring carbon-rich peatlands and managing forests sustainably; integrate fire risk into biodiversity and tree-planting plans; and educate for a fire-resilient society.
The report under the auspices of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) was drafted by scientists from across Europe. On behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Marco Conedera, forest engineer at the WSL Campus in Cadenazzo, contributed as a reviewer of a draft version.
Actor constellation - td-net toolbox profile 2 Pohl, C. 2020
This publication describes the actor constellation and is part of a series of tools and methods compiled in the td-net toolbox for co-producing knowledge. Actor constellation is a role-play for identifying the relevance of various involved actors for tackling a specific research question.