[All] Fwd: Postponed UK's geoengineering experiment, as European Parliament signals its opposition to planet-tinkering

[Robert Milligan]

FYI
RM


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "ETC Group" <civicrm at etcgroup.org>
> Date: September 30, 2011 1:49:28 PM GMT-04:00
> To: "mill at continuum.org" <mill at continuum.org>
> Subject: Postponed UK's geoengineering experiment, as European  
> Parliament signals its opposition to planet-tinkering
> Reply-To: r.128.108691.453aa04b0839d14d at etcgroup.org
>
> Press Release
>
> September 30, 2011
>
> www.etcgroup.org
>
>
> “Hold Your Hoses!”
>
> Kink in UK’s ‘Trojan Hose’ geoengineering experiment, as  
> European Parliament signals its opposition to planet-tinkering
>
> Opponents of proposals to “geoengineer” the planet have two  
> reasons to celebrate this week.
>
> Firstly, ETC Group has learned that UK scientists, in the midst of  
> controversy, are on the cusp of postponing an imminent test of an  
> experimental hose (dubbed the “Trojan Hose” by opponents)  
> designed to deliver sulphur dioxide to the stratosphere as a way to  
> engineer a cooler planet. The test had been scheduled for October;  
> on Monday, 60 groups from around the globe sent an open letter to  
> the UK government and the research councils involved expressing  
> their opposition to the experiment. No public announcement of the  
> decision has been made and details must be clarified, but an  
> undeniable lack of prior stakeholder engagement is the likely reason  
> for the delay.
>
> Secondly, the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg on Thursday  
> adopted a resolution expressing “opposition to proposals for large  
> scale geoengineering” – the first time the European legislature  
> has commented on the matter. The resolution aims at developing a  
> common EU position ahead of next year’s United Nations Conference  
> on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The resolution also called for  
> the establishment of “capacity within the UN system to monitor,  
> evaluate and provide information about new technologies.” The  
> Parliament’s call echoes recent calls from civil society, which  
> stress the crucial need for strong participation in technology  
> evaluation from social movements and civil society, especially those  
> people potentially affected.
>
> ETC Group, which spearheaded the international campaign against the  
> ‘Trojan Hose’ test, cautiously welcomed the decision. ETC  
> Group’s Diana Bronson warns, “We are glad to see the geoengineers  
> coming off their high hoses, recognizing that genuine consultation  
> is needed. However, we must be clear about what constitutes  
> stakeholder engagement when it comes to re-jigging the planet: All  
> people and all governments have a stake in this decision, and the  
> only legitimate forum for decision-making is the United Nations.”
>
> Commenting on the European Parliament resolution, ETC Group’s  
> Executive Director Pat Mooney, added, “We are pleased that Members  
> of the European Parliament have put geoengineering forward as an  
> issue for the Rio+20 Summit to take on. No geoengineering  
> experiments should go ahead before a global debate takes place.”
>
> Note to editors: The statement on geoengineering in the European  
> Parliament resolution of 29 September 2011 on developing a common EU  
> position ahead of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable  
> Development (Rio+20) is found in paragraph 90; the statement on  
> building capacity within the UN for technology evaluation is in  
> paragraph 93. The resolution is available here
>
> http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=20110929&secondRef=TOC&language=EN
>
> For more information:
>
> Diana Bronson, in Montreal: +1 514 629 9236
> diana at etcgroup.org
>
> -----
>
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