Global Engagement Program

Pakistan

DSG collaborated with COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) to conduct the first-ever conference and training seminar on solar geoengineering in Pakistan to engage policymakers, academia, journalists and civil society organizations. CUI has built several projects that look at the physical and social impacts of solar geoengineering in the developing world and provided the necessary background information needed for deliberations on informed governance in a developing country.

Co-led by DSG Director of Global Engagement Hassaan Sipra, the workshop focused on what is known about solar geoengineering at present, and what is needed to ensure that developing countries like Pakistan are able to participate in the decision-making processes around this subject. The goal was to bring together a range of perspectives from Pakistan to allow Pakistani participants to chart a path forward on solar geoengineering governance.

In the context of this workshop, Hassaan Sipra and Dr. Imran Khalid also published a policy brief entitled “Governance of Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) – Developing the Pakistan Perspective.” Read the brief.

In addition to the workshop, the DSG team met with 17 civil society organizations, academic institutions, and government leaders to start building understanding and awareness around solar geoengineering and launch engagement efforts.

Read more about the lessons learned from DSG’s Pakistan workshop and engagement.

South Africa

In early 2024, the DSG team visited South Africa to meet with local academics and civil society organizations on the topic of solar geoengineering, governance, and engagement. DSG’s primary mission focuses on building the knowledge and understanding of solar geoengineering in the Global South, and seeks to empower local organizations to engage with the research and decision-making processes associated with this field.

During this first visit, the DSG team met with 15 organizations and leaders on the ground in South Africa, between Cape Town and Johannesburg, including universities, think tanks, as well as advocacy, policy and research-oriented organizations. DSG hopes to build more engagement potential in South Africa, specifically around convening capacity-building workshops that allow civil society participants to familiarize themselves with climate vulnerability across Africa and provide foundational information about solar geoengineering and its governance.

Read more about DSG’s engagement efforts in South Africa.

In August 2024, DSG will partner with The African Climate Foundation (ACF) to host a series of virtual workshops focusing on the critical issues surrounding the growing conversation around SRM from an African perspective. While the potential impacts for SRM on temperature are clear, global, regional and local impacts on precipitation, agriculture, geopolitics, socioeconomic security and multiple other facets remain uncertain. As momentum in this field is growing, these workshops aim to increase understanding and facilitate informed discussions on SRM, especially among African nations, where its impacts, if implemented, would be most significantly felt.

As with all of DSG’s workshops, these workshops are not advocacy oriented but are part of our broader effort to enhance the capacity and knowledge of African stakeholders in the field of SRM in an unbiased way, ensuring that their voices are heard in global research and governance discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with experts offering various views on these climate intervention techniques and learn how and where to contribute towards building African narratives on SRM. Read the concept note for additional details.

For more information, visit our events page. 

Workshop Information:

India

In early 2023, the DSG team visited India and conducted several meetings with a diverse array of institutions and actors. The goal of this initial trip was to:

1. learn how current funders and organizations are thinking about both solar geoengineering, if at all, as well as efforts around capacity building for civil society;
2. explore ways that a new organization like DSG can be supportive of Indian-driven initiates and efforts to grow policy capacity in civil society;
3. to start building the groundwork for collaborations through which DSG can help catalyze work

Norway

Considering the current state of Arctic breakdown and the increasing amount of research on geoengineering happening in the Arctic, it is crucial that young people from the region are equipped to participate in these discussions, ensuring climate and intergenerational justice, as well as transparency and accountability for technologies that require long-term future planning. This workshop series aims to explore attitudes toward SRM and facilitate the co-creation of Arctic youth’s own SRM futures.

DSG is working with the foresight practitioner Julia Reindl to run a series of workshops with young people across the Arctic region. The results of this workshop series can facilitate dialogues between young people and policymakers. The outputs will include a white paper and articles that challenge existing narratives and provoke discussions. The results will be publicly available online on DSG’s website.

These discussions will further evolve through subsequent workshops in other regions, aiming to develop capacity programs for young citizens invested in shaping the future of SRM.

Recent Events

May 31, 2024: Beddingen kulturhus – Tolder Holmers vei 4, 8003 Bodø, Norway

Learn more

More dates will be announced soon. If you’re interested in hosting a workshop with us, write to clara@sgdeliberation.org

Sweden

Denmark

USA

England

Kenya

Canada

Mexico

Jamaica

Fiji

Ecuador

Australia