European Parliament Comes Out Against Geoengineering

At least one European institution is taking a stand against climate engineering. In a recent resolution passed in advance of next year's Rio+20 summit, the European Parliament (EP) announced that it "Expresses its opposition to proposals for large scale geo-engineering" (paragraph 90). While other European authorities are supporting a growing list of important research projects (see Now Comes EuroChar, 10/8), the EP is declaring itself hostile to climate intervention. Fortunately, the EP is the least significant of the central EU bodies--many observers regard it as little more than a talking shop with minimal influence over EU legislation and policy. Nevertheless, it will be important to watch how this affects other EU organs as they attempt to formulate common positions prior to Rio+20.