Open letter requesting cancellation of plans for geoengineering related test flights in Kiruna
Govven: Brandon Wilson/AVO
The Saami Council has together with Swedish environmental organisations sent a letter to the Advisory Committee of the Harvard-based SCoPEx geoengineering project. In the letter the Saami Council voices our strong concerns and demands cancellation of the planned balloon test flight at the Swedish Space Corporation (Esrange) in Kiruna.
The letter highlights that the technology the SCoPEx project seeks to develop – Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) – is a technology that entails risks of catastrophic consequences. SAI essentially attempts to mimic volcanic eruptions by continuously spewing the sky with sun-dimming particles as a mega-technofix response to climate change.
The letter furthermore highlights serious concerns around the governance and decision-making of SCoPEx, noting that there has been no consultations with Saami people or Swedish society at large.
The Saami Council calls on both the SCoPEx Advisory Committee and Swedish Space Corporation to cancel the planned test flight in Kiruna.
The open letter is available here.
Earlier letters articulating concerns with SCoPEx plans were sent to the Swedish government and to the Swedish Space Corporation by co-signatories to this open letter, also covered by The Guardian.
