The Degrees Initiative

Since 2010, the Degrees Initiative has led the world in building developing country capacity to evaluate solar radiation modification (SRM) and to play a central role in the global conversation around this controversial technology. Degrees’ engagement workshops in developing countries bring new voices into the global conversation. Its Degrees Modelling Fund (DMF) empowers teams of scientists in the Global South to ask their own questions about SRM and develop their own expertise, and its community-building activities promote South-South and South-North collaboration around SRM. Together, these activities are creating a global community of SRM experts with strong southern representation, transforming the environment in which decisions about SRM will be made by ensuring informed and confident representation from climate-vulnerable countries. The Degrees Initiative is neutral on SRM–on whether it should ever be used and how it should be governed. But we believe that much more research is needed if humanity is to make informed decisions about SRM, and a much broader conversation is needed if there are to be equitable decisions. Degrees’ work has received widespread acclaim. Degrees was singled out for commendation in a report on SRM from the US National Academy of Sciences, its model was endorsed by the editors of Nature, and it was selected as one of the ten Scale-Up projects of the 2021 Paris Peace Forum. The initiative’s work has been covered by the Guardian, the BBC, Le Monde, Nature, Carbon Brief, Climate Home News, the Huffington Post, the Japan Times, Reuters, and SciDevNet. The Degrees Initiative is a registered charity in England and Wales. It was previously known as the SRM Governance Initiative (SRMGI), a partnership between the Royal Society, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Degrees is currently funded by Open Philanthropy, the Climate Pathfinders Foundation, and the European Climate Foundation.