As climate geoengineering (CE) research moves from modelling and laboratory studies to field experiments, there is a need to move from transparency in principle to transparency in practice. The objective of this paper is to focus attention on two distinct roles that disclosure-based governance is anticipated to play: minimization of the potential for environmental and social concerns associated with CE research; and to generate and maintain legitimacy in the research process itself. Disclosure-based governance must recognize the iterative and inherently normative nature of CE governance and support the development of a decentralized system of disclosure serving multiple ends.
