From Particles to Policy: Technical Building Blocks for Multi-State SAI Coordination

TL;DR

This paper explores engineered solid particles for stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), proposing technical building blocks for multi-state coordination, monitoring, and governance, emphasizing safety, traceability, and measurable parameters.

Contribution

It introduces specific technical metrics and infrastructure concepts for SAI monitoring and coordination, drawing parallels from existing international regimes.

Findings

Engineered particles can support safety and controllability in SAI.

Two technical building blocks: radiative forcing measurement and particle traceability.

Shared monitoring databases could facilitate multi-state governance.

Abstract

Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is a solar radiation modification technique, proposed as an interim measure to offset warming while greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced. This paper discusses a possible SAI implementation route - an alternative to sulfate aerosols formed in situ - based on engineered solid particles having dedicated properties such as size, composition, surface chemistry, and traceable origin, supporting safety, controllability, and functionality needed for SAI systems. These engineered properties also open up options for any future multi-state coordination of SAI through two technical building blocks: (1) the SAI-induced radiative forcing (SRF) - the magnitude of the cooling effect attributable specifically to the SAI layer - as an operator-independent quantity, derivable from direct aerosol-layer measurements; and (2) particle traceability through identifying signatures embedded at production. Both could feed into a shared, publicly accessible monitoring database open to independent interrogation, addressing several governance challenges by anchoring compliance assessments in measurable parameters. Drawing on precedents from the Montreal Protocol, IAEA safeguards, and other regimes, we show that shared technical metrics have historically enabled multi-state cooperation, and we argue the same could apply to SAI. We describe a phased pathway in which the technical capabilities and coordination practices that would use them are developed and tested together, at scales orders of magnitude below operational deployment. To be clear - we regard SAI deployment as premature; the conditions under which it might be considered have not been met. The paper does not propose a governance framework; rather, it identifies technical infrastructure that could support a wide range of such frameworks.