Parliamentarians and climate researchers from across the Americas gathered in Panama City last week for a targeted science-policy dialogue on solar radiation modification (SRM).
The briefing, held at the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO), sought to bridge the gap between scientific evidence and legislative action, ensuring that future discussions on SRM are informed by research generated within the region itself.
Bridging the science-policy divide at PARLATINO
Co-organised by PARLATINO, the Degrees Initiative, and the Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the event was integrated into the working agendas of two permanent PARLATINO commissions: Environment and Tourism, and Energy and Mines. The session was opened by the President of PARLATINO, Representative Rolando González Patricio, who framed the climate crisis as a fundamentally political challenge whose solutions depend on informed, evidence-based and anticipatory public decisions.
The dialogue drew high-level engagement from policymakers, attracting a total of 49 representatives from across 11 countries, with 36 attending in person and 13 participating remotely. The session builds on a previous science-policy dialogue convened by Degrees and UCLA in Santiago, Chile, in January 2026. The Santiago workshop began strengthening science-policy connections in the region and explored how these emerging technologies intersect with Latin American realities.
Bringing lawmakers up to speed on SRM science, governance and regional research
Former senator Juan Pablo Letelier delivered the opening address, highlighting the urgent need for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations to strengthen their understanding of SRM and acknowledging Degrees’ support for SRM researchers across the region. Dr Juan Pablo Escuderro from UCLA then moderated the presentation session calling up Latin American researchers to introduce parliamentarians to the topic and to share their research.
Prof. Inés Camilloni, from the University of Buenos Aires, kicked off the briefings with a comprehensive introduction to SRM designed to bring parliamentarians up to speed on the core science current research. She also introduced her own research in Argentina, funded by Degrees, modelling the potential impacts of SRM on the La Plata Basin, going beyond the unknowns to explain what her team has learned after eight years of working on the topic.
Dr Francisco Estrada, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), presented his team’s research modelling the potential economic impacts of SRM in Mexico and Central America. Warning of worsening climate risks, he emphasised that any potential implementation of SRM must strictly satisfy three fundamental pre-conditions: robust mitigation, a low risk of failure, and a gradual phase-out.
Following these presentations, Prof. Ted Parson, a renowned scholar from the Emmett Institute-UCLA, specialist in global environmental policy and a research collaborator with Degrees, addressed the complex international governance challenges and legal dimensions of SRM. As he laid out the current situation, Prof. Parson emphasised that there were still many open questions in terms of how SRM could and should be governed.
As organisers, Degrees Initiative and UCLA stated their strictly neutral stance on whether SRM should ever be deployed, emphasising that these interventions present profound uncertainties and novel challenges. They reiterated that SRM cannot replace deep mitigation and adaptation efforts, which remain the number one priority.
Questions and responses to build regional understanding
Subsequent discussions ranged across four key areas: centring local expertise to bridge communication gaps, strengthening regional scientific and governmental networks, informing lawmakers on technical developments, and navigating governance challenges alongside the region’s unique climate vulnerabilities.
At the closing of the meeting, participants discussed the vital importance of strengthening the dialogue between regionally produced science and policy to guarantee inclusive and informed decision-making processes. By anchoring policy debates in locally generated research, the sessions successfully worked towards ensuring the LAC region can actively lead global conversations on SRM governance, rather than remaining a passive bystander to discussions taking place elsewhere.
