US and Saudi Arabia block geoengineering proposals

The US and Saudi Arabia have reportedly blocked proposals for an international geoengineering governance framework, fearing it could damage their fossil fuel industries.

It was hoped the framework would mitigate the risks involved in climate-manipulation methods, such as removing carbon from the air and placing reflective mirrors in space.

Some fear that countries could use geoengineering as an excuse to carry on polluting, with the fossil fuel sector often backing the methods as a way of tackling climate change.

However, Switzerland was forced to withdraw its proposal for a new system of governance at a recent UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) after several attempts at compromise, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Indonesia's Agus Justianto, one of the facilitators of the talks in Kenya, was said to have “expressed regret that several delegations had been unable to accept the final compromise proposal“.

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