A group of 12 scholars from across the developing world – including Prof Nelson Torto from the African Academy of Sciences – made an unprecedented call for developing countries to lead on the research and evaluation of solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering.
Solar radiation management is a controversial idea for reducing some of the impacts of climate change. The leading proposal would involve spraying tiny reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, filtering the sun’s energy to mimic the cooling effect of volcanoes.
The consequences of solar geoengineering are still uncertain and developing countries could be most affected by its use. SRM would lower global temperatures and so could reduce some of the harmful effects of climate change that affect poor countries, such as higher temperatures, changes to rainfall patterns and stronger tropical cyclones. But it could have unexpected and damaging side effects, could cause international tensions and could distract policymakers from cutting carbon emissions. Without leadership from the Global South, Northern voices will set the policy agenda and developing countries will be left behind.
Most research to date has taken place in Europe and North America. The Comment in Nature argues that developing countries have the most to gain or lose from SRM and should be central to international efforts to understand the technology.
The Comment’s co-signatories are a diverse group of distinguished scientists and NGO leaders, all of whom ran pioneering workshops to expand discussion of SRM in their countries or regions: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan, the Pacific, the Philippines and Thailand.
Prof Nelson Torto, the Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, whose organisation helped organise the first major workshop on SRM in Kenya, said: “Climate vulnerable countries have the most to gain from SRM – also the most to lose if it goes wrong. This is far too important an issue to be left to the world’s rich countries”
Dr Atiq Rahman, Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and the Comment’s lead author, agreed: “Clearly SRM could be dangerous but we need to know whether, for countries like Bangladesh, it would be more or less risky than passing the 1.5C warming goal agreed by the UNFCCC. This matters greatly to people from developing countries and our voices need to be heard”.
The AAS ran an engagement workshop in Kenya in June 2017. The workshop was the first of its kind held in Kenya and aimed to spark a conversation on what SRM might mean for Africa.

Egyptian officials say authorities have arrested the editor of an independent news website for operating without a license, the latest episode in a crackdown on independent media. They say Adel Sabri was arrested late Tuesday and taken to a Cairo police station, while the offices of the Masr al-Arabia website were shuttered. Prosecutors are questioning him Wednesday. The arrest came a day after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi won a second, four-year term in office, with 97 percent of the vote in last week’s election. El-Sissi has since 2014 moved to tame the media, silencing critical voices and blocking hundreds of independent news sites as part of a wider campaign against dissent.

Unmissable AHIC programme also features global hotel CEOs representing IHG, Louvre Hotels, 25Hours and Standard International, as well as regional leaders from Majid Al Futtaim, Al Habtoor Group, ORASCOM and Action Hotels.
The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2018 (AHIC) offers insights into modern leadership, forward-thinking investment and new operating models via a stellar line-up of speakers confirmed for the annual gathering for the Middle East’s hospitality investment community.
Taking place from 17-19 April 2018 at the purpose-built AHIC Village in the grounds of the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, this 14th edition of AHIC promises to address the critical issues of innovation, leadership, destination development and industry disruptors amid the macroeconomic outlook from the investors’ perspective.
The event will attract 700 hotel investors, major developers, leading financiers, and C-level hotel executives to attend three days of content, networking and events, including live-on-stage interviews with some of the world’s most respected businessmen and hotel leaders and the first AHIC Global Project Showcase, featuring hospitality investment opportunities from around the world.
Held in partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), AHIC 2018 will be inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, who will give a keynote opening speech. His Highness will reveal further insights into the Strategy for Ras Al Khaimah, one of the world’s fastest growing tourism destinations, and share anecdotes that will inspire fellow leaders at AHIC.

At least five soldiers have been killed and three others injured in a Boko Haram attack in northern part of the country near the Nigerian border, according to military sources. “The station of the elements of the 41st Motorized Infantry Battalion [BIM] based in Sagme [village in northern Cameroon] … was attacked on Monday at 6 p.m. [1700 GMT] by Boko Haram fighters aboard pickups,” Brig. Gen. Bouba Dobekreo, commander of a joint military operation in the area, said. Another general said attackers had taken away heavy weapons and also set ablaze the Sagme military post before fleeing to neighboring Nigeria.