The Oxford Geoengineering Programme (OGP) has issued a call for proposals to fund projects that support research in geoengineering in the broadest sense.
The emerging field of geoengineering – the deliberate, large-scale intervention in the Earth's natural systems to address climate change – raises a wide range of questions across many disciplines, including engineering, physical and biological sciences, ethics, politics, economics, law and governance. The OGP, a new member of the Oxford Martin School, has been established to create a centre of interdisciplinary expertise that will use primary research to examine the engineering processes and associated risks of schemes to geoengineer the Earth’s climate in the context of these key scientific, ethical and governance questions. A key aim of the Programme is to facilitate the attainment and distribution of knowledge about geoengineering to scientists, governments, NGOs, corporate entities and the wider public.
The call for proposals aims to identify and support new areas of research that can involve any of the disciplines mentioned above, and interdisciplinary proposals will be particularly welcome. Which proposed geoengineering techniques could be employed without creating countervailing social or environmental side-effects? How can we assess the costs and benefits of different geoengineering solutions? What kinds of regulatory structures need to be in place for effective implementation of such solutions? Before any large scale projects can be attempted all these questions must be answered.
The OGP has a total of £60,000 to be used in 2011 as seed money for short-term research projects (typically less than 1 year).The call is open to all members of the University of Oxford, including students. Funding cannot be provided to those outside the University of Oxford. The deadline is 14 February 2011.