Scientists Call for More Climate Intervention Research
The following open letter is from over 120 scientists, including many who study climate change and its impacts. It calls for more research into climate interventions, and it is in response to a recent paper in Frontiers in Science that opposes such research. The letter is also signed by experts and leaders in the climate intervention space.

Open Letter
Climate change is accelerating, bringing more frequent disasters, destabilizing ecosystems, and straining societies’ ability to respond. Meeting this challenge requires rapid emissions cuts, removal of carbon pollution, and a full exploration of all potential tools that could help reduce climate risk and save lives. It is very unlikely that current Nationally Determined Contributions will keep the global mean temperature below the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 Celsius.
We are concerned that a recent paper in Frontiers in Science opposes research into five ideas that might help protect or restore the polar regions. The paper may give some readers the false impression that there is scientific consensus that research is unwise or distracting — while simultaneously acknowledging that many questions remain unanswered.
We disagree and express our support for continued research. To be clear: we do not endorse, and are not recommending, the deployment now of any climate interventions, including the approaches reviewed in the paper. Each raises distinct risks and uncertainties and must be evaluated with evidence, transparency, and international oversight. But the choice is not deployment now with research never — it’s research now to inform deployment, if ever.
We believe more research, not less, is urgently needed. And we trust our colleagues to recognize that our call for more research comes from the same concern they have for our shared planet. Responsible research into all potential tools that could help reduce climate risk is part of building a toolkit for managing that risk. And responsible inquiry will allow societies to distinguish harmful concepts from those that may prove to be effective.
Signatories
*Note: Affiliations are given for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement by the signer’s institution.
Robert Axelrod, PhD, University of Michigan
Anton Alferness, Paradigm Climate
Arowolo Victor Ayomide, Federal University of Technology Akure
Timothy Bartholomaus, PhD, University of Idaho
David Bercovici, PhD, Yale University
Jennifer Bonilla, PhD, Positive Polar
Frederic Bonou, PhD, Institut de Recherches Halieutiques et Océanologiques du Bénin
Olivier Boucher, PhD, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Sorbonne Université
Ken Buesseler, PhD, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Justin Burton, PhD, Emory University
Andrea Ceccolini, Real Ice
Vint Cerf, PhD, Ice Preservation Institute
Todd Cherry, PhD, University of Wyoming
Brendan Clark, PhD, Cornell University
Stuart Corney, PhD, University of Tasmania
Peter Cox, PhD, University of Exeter
Charlotte DeWald, PhD, Arctic Climate Emergencies Response Initiative
Emanuele Di Lorenzo, PhD, Brown University
Michael Diamond, PhD, Florida State University
Alistair Duffey, PhD candidate, University College London
Philip B. Duffy, PhD, Spark Climate Solutions
Robert Dunbar, PhD, Stanford University
Joshua Elliott, PhD, Renaissance Philanthropy
Erin Emme, PhD candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Amato Evan, PhD, University of California San Diego
Geoff Evatt, PhD, The University of Manchester
Stan Farkas, PhD, NASA (Retired), SecureTheFuture2100.org
Tyler Felgenhauer, PhD, Duke University
Andrés Felipe Cruz Mendoza, Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies
Daniel Fortier, PhD, Université de Montréal
Paul Gambill, Breathing Room
Rupert Gladstone, PhD, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Katrine Gorham, PhD, Spark Climate Solutions
Nina Grant, PhD candidate, Rutgers University
Charles Greene, PhD, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington
Dakota Gruener, Reflective
Marianne Hagen, NIVA
Claudine Hauri, PhD, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Michael Harte, PhD, Oregon State University
Andrew Hennig, PhD, University of Virginia
Matthew Henry, PhD, University of Exeter
Adrian Hindes, Australian National University
Haruki Hirasawa, PhD, University of Washington
Michael F. Hochella, Jr., PhD, Virginia Tech
Denise Holland, Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
David Holland, PhD, New York University
Matthias Honegger, Utrecht University
Hugh Hunt, PhD, University of Cambridge, Centre for Climate Repair
Alexander C. Ihle, PhD, University of Rochester
Detelina Ivanova, PhD, Climformatics Inc
Viktor Jaakkola, Operaatio Arktis
Jeremy Johnston, PhD, University of New Hampshire
Mara Karageozian, PhD, Arizona State University
Sadegh Karimi, PhD, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran
David M. Karl, PhD, University of Hawaii
David Keith, PhD, University of Chicago
Marc von Keitz, PhD, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
Brendan Kelly, PhD, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Christine Klaas, PhD, Alfred Wegener Institute
Jasper Kok, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
David Koweek, PhD, Ocean Visions
Ben Kravitz, PhD, Indiana University
Ajay Kumar, PhD, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Burgess Langshaw Power, PhD candidate, University of Waterloo
Gary Latshaw, PhD, Securethefuture2100
Anh Le-Duy Pham, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Xia Li, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Hans van der Loo, Institute for Integrated Economic Research
Alex Luebke, PhD, Ice Preservation Institute
Douglas R. MacAyeal, PhD, University of Chicago
Michael MacCracken, PhD, Climate Institute
Marc Macias Fauria, PhD, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
Douglas MacMartin, PhD, Cornell University
Ken Mankoff, PhD, NASA
Ron Maor, PhD, Stanford University
Seelye Martin, PhD, University of Washington
Pere Masque, PhD, Edith Cowan University
Dennis McGillicuddy, PhD, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ilona Mettiäinen, PhD candidate, Arctic Center, University of Lapland
Colin R. Meyer, PhD, Dartmouth College
Brent Minchew, PhD, California Institute of Technology
John Moore, PhD, University of Lapland
Kathryn Moore, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park
Mathieu Morlighem, PhD, Dartmouth
Paul Morris, PhD, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Benjamin Narwold, UC Davis (Former)
Jerome Neufeld, PhD, University of Cambridge
Kerry Nickols, PhD, Ocean Visions
Russell Ogle, PhD
Thomas A. Okey, PhD, The Ocean Foundation
Edward A. Parson, PhD, Emmett Institute on Climate and Environment, UCLA School of Law
Janos Pasztor, Formerly Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (Retired)
Alek Petty, PhD, University of Maryland
Julie Pullen, PhD, Ocean Visions Board Member
Kwesi Quagraine, PhD, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research
Morgan Raven, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara
Benjamin Redmond Roche, PhD, University College London/Co-CREATE
João Gabriel Martins Ribeiro, Federal University of Itajubá
Katharine Ricke, PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego
Daniel Robeldo, Phd, Cinvestav
Katie Roche, PhD, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Finn Ross, PhD, The Blue Carbon Lab
Philip B. Russell, PhD, NASA (Retired)
Hannah Safford, PhD, Federation of American Scientists
Yernar Sailybayev, Caspian Environmental Consortium Ltd.
Seth Saltiel, PhD, Cornell University
Christian Schoof, PhD, University of British Columbia
Bridget Shayka, PhD, Ocean Visions
Rohit Shukla, Larta Institute
Lars H. Smedsrud, PhD, University of Bergen & Bjerknes Center, Norway
Sarah R. Smith, PhD, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San José State University
Anthony Strawa, PhD, NASA (Retired)
Jenny Suckale, PhD, Stanford University
John Taylor, PhD, University of Cambridge
Alexandra Turchyn, PhD, University of Cambridge
Michel Tsamados, PhD, University College London
Leonardo Valenzuela Perez, PhD, Ocean Visions
Cindy Wang, PhD, Cornell University
Yubo Wang, Stevens Institute of Technology
Hannah Watt, Durham University
Angelicque White, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Michael Wolovick, PhD, University of Bremen
Anya Wolterman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fonger Ypma, PhD, Arctic Reflections
Geordie Zapalac, PhD, Antora Energy
Liyun Zhao, PhD, Beijing Normal University
Steven Zornetzer, PhD, NASA (Retired)
Questions and media inquiries, please contact:
Craig Segall: craig@segallconsults.com
Vas Srivastavavas: vas@evergreenstrategygroup.com
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