ETC Group
News Release
30 September 2011
“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.”
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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@etcgroup.org
