Summary/Abstract
At its tenth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a decision on climate-related geoengineering and its impacts on the achievement of the objectives of the Convention as part of its decision X/33 on biodiversity and climate change. In response to this decision, three studies were prepared and are presented to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice as information documents. The studies compile and synthesize information on: (i) the possible impacts of geoengineering techniques on biodiversity and associated social, economic and cultural considerations; (ii) the regulatory framework of geoengineering relevant to the Convention; and (iii) the views and experiences of indigenous and local communities and stakeholders on the impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity.
The study on the legal and regulatory framework of geoengineering indicates that the current regulatory mechanisms that could apply to climate-related geoengineering relevant to the Convention do not constitute a framework for geoengineering as a whole that meets the criteria of being science-based, global, transparent and effective. With the possible exceptions of ocean fertilization experiments and carbon dioxide storage in geological formations, the study states that the existing legal and regulatory framework is currently not commensurate with the potential scale and scope of the climate-related geoengineering, including transboundary effects. The need for science-based global, transparent and effective control and regulatory mechanisms may be most relevant for those geoengineering concepts that have a potential to cause significant adverse transboundary effects, and for those deployed in areas beyond national jurisdiction and in the atmosphere.