Engage in the solar geoengineering debate: Why India must shape the rules before the sun goes dim

The world has made real progress on emissions. Policies triggered by the Paris Agreement have bent the temperature curve: a trajectory once headed for 4-5° C of warming has been brought down to 2.1-2.8° C. But it's not enough. Overshoot will increase calls for drastic, rapid interventions, the kinds that demand robust governance.

It's against this backdrop that an idea is gaining attention: solar radiation modification (SRM), or solar geoengineering. SRM refers to the idea of reflecting a small proportion of sunlight away from Earth to reduce temperatures. Proposed technologies range from painting roofs white to space-based mirrors that reflect sunlight. But the two most considered technologies are injecting reflective aerosols into the stratosphere and marine cloud brightening.

Climate change itself is a landscape of known unknowns. We know the monsoon will be disrupted. But we cannot always say exactly how, where or when. SRM adds a second layer of 'unknown unknowns'. We can't yet model what it would do to regional weather, to India's rainfall, or to the world's food supply.


One country - or even one determined actor - could attempt it at scale, and effects would not stop at any border. It might cool the planet on average while shifting rainfall from one region to another. Pause it suddenly, and the temperature could snap back. And there's moral hazard. Having SRM tech could weaken the resolve to cut fossil fuel emissions.

The research is happening. The question is no longer whether solar geoengineering will be explored, but who governs it and how.

Right now, the answer is unsettling. Direction of this field is being set by a small circle of powerful actors, almost all in the developed world. Funding from public, commercial and philanthropic sources is also almost entirely concentrated in these countries. To be certain, research is increasingly important across regions to reduce uncertainty, improve understanding and address open questions. But research alone is insufficient. Because context shapes who it serves.

In tech development, an often-repeated norm is that science must come first, and governance can follow when necessary. But in SRM, waiting to build governance creates new risks. When built well, good governance doesn't slow responsible research. It enables it to move quickly and be publicly understood.

And, ultimately, lack of governance leaves decision-making to partisan actors. This is especially true for developing countries, which have the most to gain or lose from how SRM knowledge is built. If governance is postponed, there will be less inclusion of developing countries, a lack of accountability, and the most vulnerable will be disempowered.

For India, the stakes could not be more direct. Its climate exposure is well known. And because SRM is borderless and politically charged, even a modest action can trigger major diplomatic and public reactions. India cannot afford to let others define what credible SRM research looks like or set governance standards on its behalf. If research priorities and accountability norms are not shaped with India today, they will be set elsewhere, without Indian interests at the table.

India is not only exposed but is uniquely equipped to lead. With strong scientific institutions, an active civil society and governance capacity, India has both the stakes and institutional depth to shape the governance of SRM research. Importantly, leadership in SRM governance must centre the most vulnerable. A governance approach that centres Indian agency on the global stage but fails to include India's most vulnerable domestically will lack the credibility it seeks. NITI Aayog has begun moving in this direction.

The central question is how India builds a legitimacy-first approach to governance through transparent procedures, clear disclosure norms, meaningful engagement and accountable review, built in parallel with the science. Some of this groundwork is being laid. Solar Geoengineering Research Governance (SGRG) Platform is working to turn these principles into practical tools, not to push for deployment but to ensure that if research advances, it advances with legitimacy. India's hand in shaping such efforts is essential.

The technology is still young. Most SRM work remains confined to models and labs. That is exactly why this moment matters. The foundations are being laid now. India should help lay them so that, if research moves forward, it moves forward with the developing world in the room.

Talati is founder-ED, Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering, and Ghosh is CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)