Co-CREATE has already advanced the conversation and analysis across multiple fronts. The project has mapped existing knowledge about SRM, consolidating technical information on leading techniques such as stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, and cirrus cloud thinning. It has produced plain-language overviews of how these methods work, the risks and uncertainties they raise, and the past, current, and planned field experiments.
The project has examined the legal and ethical dimensions of SRM. Researchers have identified the legal regimes that could apply to SRM research—from human rights and Indigenous rights law to environmental, climate, space, and liability law. They also explored the ethical dimensions to identify gaps in current frameworks especially regarding legitimacy, oversight, and public participation.
Co-CREATE has developed case studies of potential field experiments combining technical details with governance challenges and environmental considerations. These cases help anticipate the kinds of questions that policymakers will face. In parallel, the project has reviewed past SRM field experiments and highlighted key lessons on feasibility, reversibility, monitoring, and contingency planning.
Another major area of work focuses on assessing risks and governance lessons. Research is underway to build benefit–risk assessment frameworks and scenario analysis, while also drawing lessons from the governance of other contested technologies such as nuclear energy, genetically modified organisms, and artificial intelligence.
Co-CREATE has conducted more than 30 interviews with experts, stakeholders, and rightsholders to capture views on SRM governance. It has consulted its Advisory Board and organised workshops, roundtables, online Seminars, and online exchanges through its Stakeholder Forum to facilitate inclusive dialogue, with efforts to include voices from Indigenous peoples and the Global South.
Finally, the project is weaving these strands together into a set of guidelines and decision-support frameworks. These are informed by synthesis workshops and policy dialogues with EU institutions, researchers, and civil society, ensuring that outputs are grounded in evidence, governance experience, and societal values.
