Sikina Jinnah, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Politics at the University of California Santa Cruz, is a member of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment’s Academic Working Group on the International Governance of Climate Engineering. Jinnah was also awarded an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2017 for her research on the governance of climate engineering.
Jinnah recently discussed her research, arguing that “although governing climate engineering will be a massive undertaking–and incredibly challenging–it is possible through what many in my field call a ‘polycentric’ approach. This basically means that we shouldn’t expect a new treaty or single institution to take on this issue anytime soon. Rather, like much of climate governance more broadly, climate engineering governance is likely to unfold in a patchwork manner across scales and institutions.”
“It’s going to take a village. It is going to be a massive challenge but that should not be a reason to shy away from discussing governance in this area.”
Jinnah also emphasized the importance of public engagement. “Broad and meaningful public engagement is central to creating and successfully implementing new policies in this area. This doesn’t mean merely telling people what climate engineering is and how the science is unfolding. Rather, it means developing forums for dialogue and institutionalized mechanisms for addressing public concerns and incorporating public input into policy-making processes.”
The full interview can be read here.
