1st Edition

Geoengineering our Climate? Ethics, Politics, and Governance

Edited By Jason J. Blackstock, Sean Low Copyright 2019
    314 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    314 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    If the detrimental impacts of human-induced climate change continue to mount, technologies for geoengineering our climate – i.e. deliberate modifying of the Earth's climate system at a large scale – are likely to receive ever greater attention from countries and societies worldwide. Geoengineering technologies could have profound ramifications for our societies, and yet agreeing on an international governance framework in which even serious research into these planetary-altering technologies can take place presents an immense international political challenge.

    In this important book, a diverse collection of internationally respected scientists, philosophers, legal scholars, policymakers, and civil society representatives examine and reflect upon the global geoengineering debate they have helped shape. Opening with essays examining the historic origins of contemporary geoengineering ideas, the book goes on to explore varying perspectives from across the first decade of this global discourse since 2006. These essays methodically cover: the practical and ethical dilemmas geoengineering poses; the evolving geoengineering research agenda; the challenges geoengineering technologies present to current international legal and political frameworks; and differing perceptions of geoengineering from around the world. The book concludes with a series of forward looking essays, some drawing lessons from precedents for governing other global issues, others proposing how geoengineering technologies might be governed if/as they begin to emerge from the lab into the real world.

    This book is an indispensable resource for scientists, activists, policymakers, and political figures aiming to engage in the emerging debate about geoengineering our climate.

    1. Geoengineering Our Climate: An Emerging Discourse Jason J. Blackstock and Sean Low

    Part I: Historical Context

    2. Philosophy of Technology and Geoengineering Dane Scott

    3. Geoengineering and the Sacred: A Brief History in Four Characters Bronislaw Szerscynski

    4. A History of Weather and Climate Control James Rodgers Fleming

    5. Nitrogen Geoengineering Oliver Morton

    Part II: Contemporary Framings

    6. Can Emergency Geoengineering Really Prevent Climate Tipping Points? Timothy M. Lenton

    7. The Economics of Climate Engineering Juan B. Moreno-Cruz, Katharine L. Ricke and Gernot Wagner

    8. Framing Geoengineering Assessments Rob Bellamy

    9. Public Perceptions of Geoengineering Rose Cairns

    10. Geoengineering and the Inexact Science of Communication, Jeff Tollefson

    11. ‘This is God’s Stuff We’re Messing With’: Geoengineering as a Religious Issue Wylie Carr

    12. The Ethical Dimensions of Geoengineering: Solar Radiation Management through Sulphate Particle Injection Nancy Tuana

    Part III: Geoengineering Experiments: Early Days

    13. The Early Evolution of Climate Engineering Research  Mark G. Lawrence and Paul J. Crutzen

    14. Use of Models, Analogs and Field-tests for Geoengineering Research Alan Robock and Ben Kravitz

    15. Past Forays into SRM Field Research and Implications for Future Governance Jack Doughty

    16. Village Science Meets Global Discourse: The Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation’s Ocean Iron Fertilization Experiment Holly Jean Buck

    17. Capturing the Imagination: Prospects for Direct Air Capture as a Climate Measure Duncan McLaren

    Part IV: Existing Institutions and Emerging Frameworks

    18. The Emergence of the Geoengineering Debate Within the IPCC Arthur Petersen

    19. The International Legal Framework for Climate Engineering Jesse Reynolds

    20. Why the UNFCCC and CBD Should Refrain from Regulating Solar Climate Engineering Jesse Reynolds

    21. Solar Geoengineering and the Problem of Liability Joshua B. Horton, Andy Parker and David Keith

    Part V: National, Regional and Sectoral Perspectives

    22. Managing Climate Risks in Africa: The Role of Geoengineering Mulugeta Mengist Ayalew and Florent Gasc

    23. A Chinese Perspective on Solar Geoengineering Weili Weng and Ying Chen

    24. Climate Engineering and Small Island States: Panacea or Catastrophe? Penehuro Fatu Lefale and Cheryl Lea Anderson

    25. Strange Bedfellows: Climate Engineering Politics in the United States Simon Nicholson and Michael Thompson

    26. Geoengineering and the Humanitarian Challenge: What Role for the Most Vulnerable? Pablo Suarez, Bidisha Banerjee and Janot Mendler de Suarez

    27. Opposition to Geoengineering: There’s no Place like H.O.M.E. ETC Group

    28. Is Solar Geoengineering a US National Security Risk? Chad Briggs

    Part VI: Geoengineering Governance: From Research to the Real World

    29. Research Ethics and Geoengineering, David R. Morrow, Robert E. Kopp and Michael Oppenheimer

    30. A Commentary on the Oxford Principles Tim Kruger

    31. Environmental Institutions, International Research Programmes, and Lessons for Geoengineering Research Arunabha Ghosh

    32. The Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative: Advancing the International Governance of Geoengineering Research Alex Hanafi and Steven P. Hamburg

    33. Foresight in Climate Engineering Johannes Gabriel and Sean Low

    34. Towards the Anticipatory Governance of Geoengineering Rider W. Foley, David H. Guston and Daniel Sarewitz

    35. Geoengineering Our Climate into the Future Sean Low and Jason J. Blackstock

    Biography

    Jason J. Blackstock is the founding head of the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy at University College London.

    Sean Low is a research associate at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany.