Collaborative research is essential to fostering governance progress, and a transparent Canada–U.S. partnership could help reduce emerging risks while providing a model for broader international cooperation on an issue with serious conflict and security implications.
WatCISL member Burgess Langshaw Power publishes several opinion articles on Climate Security Risks and Solar Geoengineering
Different Takes: Should SRM Be Seen as a Serious Security Issue?
In a multi-author debate for SRM360, a group of experts say solar geoengineering, or sunlight reflection methods (SRM), could have important geopolitical consequences, but opinions differ on whether it should be considered a major security issue. Some researchers warn that if countries deploy SRM without global agreement, it could increase international tensions or trigger political conflicts. Others argue that the technology is unlikely to be weaponized and that framing it as a security issue could risk militarizing climate policy rather than encouraging transparent global cooperation.
Solar geoengineering doesn’t solve the human problem
In a new piece in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, researchers Beth Chalecki, Tyler Felgenhauer and Burgess Langshaw Power discuss how solar geoengineering may lower global temperatures temporarily but does not address the root cause of climate change: greenhouse gas emissions. The caution is that deploying such technology could introduce major environmental and geopolitical risks, particularly because it remains largely unregulated and could be used by individual nations or private actors. They conclude that using a planetary security lens may facilitate effective governance.
The Janus dichotomy of solar geoengineering for the Canada-U.S. security relationship
In an article for the CDA Institute, Power warns that solar geoengineering could create both opportunities and risks for the Canada–U.S. security relationship. While the technology might help reduce climate impacts, it could also trigger geopolitical competition, mistrust, or even a technological arms race if countries pursue it unilaterally. Canada and the United States may publicly oppose geoengineering while quietly researching it, highlighting the need for transparency and joint governance to prevent future conflict.