Inclusive governance and sustainable development challenges in solar radiation management

Yvette Ramos, Luísa Schmidt, Filipe Duarte Santos

Article ID: 8709
Vol 4, Issue 4, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23812/ssd8709

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Abstract

Solar Radiation Management (SRM) is increasingly attracting attention in scientific and policy discussions due to its potential to partially offset anthropogenic climate change. At the same time, SRM raises major governance, ethical, and sustainable development challenges, particularly regarding legitimacy, participation, and unequal institutional capacities between countries. While research and governance discussions continue to expand, actors from the Global North (GN) remain dominant in agenda-setting and decision-making processes, whereas the Global South (GS), despite its disproportionate vulnerability to climate impacts, remains comparatively underrepresented. This article examines SRM governance through the lens of inclusive governance and sustainable development. It argues that governance arrangements lacking transparency, accountability, and equitable participation risk reinforcing existing inequalities in global environmental governance and undermining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Drawing on a qualitative literature review and a case study of the SRM Non-Use Agreement, the article analyzes the evolution of SRM debates and the structural factors shaping participation in governance discussions. Recent institutional assessments, including the United Nations Environment (UNEP) Program Solar Radiation Modification Working Paper further highlight major governance gaps, scientific uncertainty, and asymmetries in research capacity between developed and developing countries. The analysis explores governance mechanisms capable of strengthening transparency, participation, and ethical safeguards in emerging SRM governance frameworks. Beyond documenting existing governance gaps, this article makes three contributions. First, it combines a structured literature review with an empirical analysis of the SRM Non-Use Agreement to examine participation asymmetries. Second, it identifies the institutional factors that continue to constrain meaningful Global South participation in emerging SRM governance debates. Third, it proposes governance mechanisms that translate principles of inclusive governance and sustainable development into operational pathways for future SRM governance.


Keywords

solar radiation management (SRM); inclusive governance; sustainable development; sustainability governance; global south (GS), climate justice; polycentric governance; SRM non-use agreement


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