About

Mind Our Future!

We are a youth group critical of solar geoengineering. Our mission is to connect and engage youth on the topic of solar geoengineering and the developments in research, policy, and civil society – developments that are occurring largely without critical youth awareness or input.

Exploration of large-scale interventions into the climate system is currently underway. This involves, among others, technological alterations to the atmosphere, such as stratospheric aerosol injection – a speculative method that would involve the introduction of aerosols into the stratosphere to reduce incoming sunlight and lower global temperatures. Those advancing research into solar geoengineering claim the potentially feasible and effective role it could play in addressing current inaction to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change impacts.

However, solar geoengineering raises numerous profound concerns and remains a contentious subject due to uncertainties surrounding the technology, its potential consequences, the implausibility of achieving fair and just governance for its implementation, the urgent imperative to decarbonize within the next 10 to 20 years, and the numerous issues related to social and planetary justice at the local, national, and global scales.

Current solar geoengineering research and advocacy are dominated by experts from largely North American or European think-tanks, affiliated institutes, and private research councils. Furthermore, solar geoengineering is suggested to offer potential benefits to climate-vulnerable communities, youth, and future generations who will inherit the consequences of climate change – populations that are largely excluded from these discussions and from the current knowledge itself.

A critical approach to solar geoengineering prioritizes concerns for justice, equity, and a fair climate future. Critical perspectives on solar geoengineering warn against false solutions to climate change that do not tackle the root causes of climate change and instead avoid these greater transformations. Mind Our Future! seeks to build a youth platform by which young people can learn about and engage in solar geoengineering with such a critical perspective.

This platform is not just for students or young researchers familiar with the science and governance discussions of solar geoengineering. This conversation is fundamentally about our atmosphere, our planet and our climate future as those who will inherit the consequences of the choices made today. We aim to bring together young people from all parts of the world, from all backgrounds and knowledge levels, to synthesize a range of diverse critical perspectives and build influence on this urgent topic.