July 22, 2020
Statement from Louise Bedsworth, PhD
I have communicated to Harvard University that I will resign as the Chair of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee. While I have been undertaking this work as a volunteer-based on my professional qualifications, I failed to make a clear distinction between this work and my official role with the State of California. This personal mistake has cast a shadow on the work of the Committee and my professional obligations. I apologize for failing to draw a clearer line between my role with the State and my volunteer work on the Committee.
If solar geoengineering research is to occur, strong governance is needed. This Advisory Committee is developing one of the first comprehensive approaches for this type of governance. Given the associated risks around this type of research, it is imperative that strong governance mechanisms are in place if it is to occur to ensure necessary oversight, transparency, and accountability.
June 11, 2020
Statement from Louise Bedsworth, PhD, Chair of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee
I am writing this statement in response to recent claims that my participation in this Advisory Committee represents an endorsement of this research by my employer, the California Strategic Growth Council. I will state emphatically that it does not.
I am undertaking this work in a volunteer capacity based on my previous work on broader issues of research governance, related both to solar geoengineering and other topics. The SCoPEx team has received no funding or endorsement by the Council, nor have any state resources been used to support this work. We have updated the Advisory Committee’s website to make this clear.
Neither my role nor the Committee’s role is to enable this research to happen, but rather to establish norms and rules around the scientific, regulatory, and societal repercussions of this work. As our Committee has stated, none of us have entered into this work with a preconceived idea that this research should happen. Rather we are committed to ensuring that if the research proceeds, it does so in a technically and ethically sound manner. We will continue to conduct our work in an open and transparent manner to achieve these goals.
Media Contact:
Sally Klimp, Executive Coordinator of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee
sklimp@g.harvard.edu