PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143
Website: www.mfe.govt.nz
Freephone: 0800 499 700
19-0-02488
B. James
[FYI request #11584 email]
28 November 2019
Dear B. James
Thank you for your email on 3 November 2019 requesting the following under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act):
What are the specific chemicals used (or planned to be used) in the Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
program?
https:j/www.google.com/amp/s/www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/11/scientists-study
spraying-chemicals-in-atmosphere-to-slow-global-warming.amp.html
The Ministry does not hold any information about this research. Your request is therefore refused under
Section 18(e) of the Act as the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist.
Your request refers to a news item reporting a research article. The article is publicly available online at
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aae98d. As you can see there, the study was
restricted to considering "sulfate aerosols" as the material used. The reasons for this are discussed in the
research article.
The New Zealand Government was not involved in the research reported, or the news item. This was a
theoretical study, and so far there has been no deployment of such geoengineering anywhere in the world,
nor are we aware of any plans to do so.
Currently, there is not enough scientific evidence to ensure that this form of geoengineering is safe. The
recent Special Report on Global Warming of l.S°C by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated
that although such measures "may be theoretically effective in reducing an overshoot [of 1.5°C], they face
large uncertainties and knowledge gaps as well as substantial risks". For example, rainfall patterns are likely
to change if such geoengineering is introduced, which could have significant consequences for the primary
sector.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Office of the Ombudsman, in accordance with
section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be found on their website at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
