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Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee Publisher: The Stationery Office ISBN: 9780215544919 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 120
Book Description
Geoengineering describes activities specifically and deliberately designed to effect a change in the global climate with the aim of minimising or reversing anthropogenic climate change. The Committee gives three reasons why they believe regulation is needed. First, in the future some geoengineering techniques may allow a single country to unilaterally affect the climate. Second, some geoengineering testing is already underway. Third, we may need geoengineering in the event of a failure to reduce greenhouse gases we are faced with highly disruptive climate change. The Committee does not call for an international treaty but for the groundwork for regulatory arrangements to begin. The UN is the route by which, eventually, they envisage the regulatory framework operating but first the UK and other governments need to push geoengineering up the international agenda and get processes moving
Author: David G. Victor Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
New evidence that the climate system may be especially sensitive to the build-up of greenhouse gases and that humans are doing a poor job of controlling their effluent has animated discussions around the possibility of offsetting the human impact on climate through 'geoengineering'. Nearly all assessments of geoengineering have concluded that the option, while ridden with flaws and unknown side effects, is intriguing because of its low cost and the ability for one or a few nations to geoengineer the planet without cooperation from others. I argue that norms to govern deployment of geoengineering systems will be needed soon. The standard instruments for establishing such norms, such as treaties, are unlikely to be effective in constraining geoengineers because the interests of key players diverge and it is relatively easy for countries to avoid inconvenient international commitments and act unilaterally. Instead, efforts to craft new norms 'bottom up' will be more effective. Such an approach, which would change the underlying interests of key countries and thus make them more willing to adopt binding norms in the future, will require active, open research programmes and assessments of geoengineering. Meaningful research may also require actual trial deployment of geoengineering systems so that norms are informed by relevant experience and command respect through use. Standard methods for international assessment organized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are unlikely to yield useful evaluations of geoengineering options because the most important areas for assessment lie in the improbable, harmful, and unexpected side effects of geoengineering, not the 'consensus science' that IPCC does well. I also suggest that real-world geoengineering will be a lot more complex and expensive than currently thought because simple interventions-such as putting reflective particles in the stratosphere-will be combined with many other costlier interventions to offset nasty side effects.
Author: Kerryn Brent Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Over the past decade geoengineering has steadily built momentum in academic and policy circles as a potential response to the risk of rapid climate change. Geoengineering has moved from a fringe idea to a serious topic of policy discussion. We argue that there are two reasons for the rise of interest in geoengineering. First, the international negotiations on reducing emissions have so far failed to provide a result that will likely prevent dangerous climate change occurring in coming decades. Second, geoengineering technologies have advanced to a stage where in the near future they might be attractive to countries facing significant climate impacts. Particularly, as geoengineering holds out the possibility of a less costly short-term response to climate change than rapid de-carbonisation of stationary energy and transport systems. However, there are many considerable risks associated with geoengineering, including damage to environmental and social systems. At present, there are no international agreements that specifically regulate the testing and/or use of geoengineering technologies. It is currently possible for one country to unilaterally decide to use geoengineering technology to the detriment of others. This leads us to the conclusion that an international agreement should be urgently established to regulate decisions regarding the testing and use of geoengineering. Australia, as a country which is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, should prepare to participate in initiatives in this regard in order to protect our interests.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Select Committee on Science and Technology Publisher: ISBN: Category : Climatic changes Languages : en Pages :
Author: David Keith Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262019825 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
A leading scientist argues that we must consider deploying climate engineering technology to slow the pace of global warming. Climate engineering—which could slow the pace of global warming by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere—has emerged in recent years as an extremely controversial technology. And for good reason: it carries unknown risks and it may undermine commitments to conserving energy. Some critics also view it as an immoral human breach of the natural world. The latter objection, David Keith argues in A Scientist's Case for Climate Engineering, is groundless; we have been using technology to alter our environment for years. But he agrees that there are large issues at stake. A leading scientist long concerned about climate change, Keith offers no naïve proposal for an easy fix to what is perhaps the most challenging question of our time; climate engineering is no silver bullet. But he argues that after decades during which very little progress has been made in reducing carbon emissions we must put this technology on the table and consider it responsibly. That doesn't mean we will deploy it, and it doesn't mean that we can abandon efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But we must understand fully what research needs to be done and how the technology might be designed and used. This book provides a clear and accessible overview of what the costs and risks might be, and how climate engineering might fit into a larger program for managing climate change.
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309314852 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
The growing problem of changing environmental conditions caused by climate destabilization is well recognized as one of the defining issues of our time. The root problem is greenhouse gas emissions, and the fundamental solution is curbing those emissions. Climate geoengineering has often been considered to be a "last-ditch" response to climate change, to be used only if climate change damage should produce extreme hardship. Although the likelihood of eventually needing to resort to these efforts grows with every year of inaction on emissions control, there is a lack of information on these ways of potentially intervening in the climate system. As one of a two-book report, this volume of Climate Intervention discusses albedo modification - changing the fraction of incoming solar radiation that reaches the surface. This approach would deliberately modify the energy budget of Earth to produce a cooling designed to compensate for some of the effects of warming associated with greenhouse gas increases. The prospect of large-scale albedo modification raises political and governance issues at national and global levels, as well as ethical concerns. Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth discusses some of the social, political, and legal issues surrounding these proposed techniques. It is far easier to modify Earth's albedo than to determine whether it should be done or what the consequences might be of such an action. One serious concern is that such an action could be unilaterally undertaken by a small nation or smaller entity for its own benefit without international sanction and regardless of international consequences. Transparency in discussing this subject is critical. In the spirit of that transparency, Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth was based on peer-reviewed literature and the judgments of the authoring committee; no new research was done as part of this study and all data and information used are from entirely open sources. By helping to bring light to this topic area, this book will help leaders to be far more knowledgeable about the consequences of albedo modification approaches before they face a decision whether or not to use them.
Author: Haomiao Du Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351717294 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 207
Book Description
Geoengineering provides new possibilities for humans to deal with dangerous climate change and its effects but at the same time creates new risks to the planet. This book responds to the challenges geoengineering poses to International Law by identifying and developing the rules and principles that are aimed at controlling the risks to the environment and human health arising from geoengineering activities, without neglecting the contribution that geoengineering could make in preventing dangerous climate change and its impacts. It argues first that the employment of geoengineering should not cause significant environmental harm to the areas beyond the jurisdiction of the state of origin or the global commons, and the risk of causing such harm should be minimized or controlled. Second, the potential of geoengineering in contributing to preventing dangerous climate change should not be downplayed.
Author: United States. Government Accountability Office Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781479104550 Category : Carbon dioxide mitigation Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Policymakers have raised questions about geoengineering--large-scale deliberate interventions in the earth's climate system to diminish climate change or its impacts--and its role in a broader strategy of mitigating and adapting to climate change. Most geoengineering proposals fall into two categories: carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which would remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, and solar radiation management (SRM), which would offset temperature increases by reflecting sunlight back into space. GAO was asked to examine (1) the state of geoengineering science, (2) federal involvement in geoengineering, and (3) the views of experts and federal officials about the extent to which federal laws and international agreements apply to geoengineering, and any governance challenges. GAO examined relevant scientific and policy studies, relevant domestic laws and international agreements, analyzed agency data describing relevant research for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, and interviewed federal officials and selected recognized experts in the field. Few geoengineering experiments or modeling studies have been conducted, and major uncertainties remain on the efficacy and potential consequences of geoengineering approaches. GAO's review of relevant studies and discussions with selected experts indicated that relatively more laboratory and field research relevant to certain CDR approaches exists, although most of this research was not designed to apply to geoengineering. In contrast, few modeling studies or field experiments have focused on SRM approaches, according to experts and recent studies. Experts identified only one SRM field experiment with published results--a 2009 Russian experiment that injected aerosols into the middle troposphere to measure their reflectivity. Most of the research focused on mitigation efforts, such as geological sequestration of CO2, which were identified as relevant to CDR approaches but not designed to address them directly. GAO found that nine activities, totaling about $1.9 million, directly investigated SRM or less conventional CDR approaches. Officials from interagency bodies coordinating federal responses to climate change indicated that their offices have not developed a coordinated strategy, and believe that, due to limited federal investment, it is premature to coordinate geoengineering activities. However, federal officials also noted that a large share of existing federal climate science research could be relevant to geoengineering. Agencies requested roughly $2 billion for such activities in fiscal year 2010. Without a coordinated federal strategy for geoengineering, it is difficult for agencies to determine the extent of relevant research, and policymakers may lack key information to inform subsequent decisions on geoengineering and existing climate science efforts. According to legal experts and federal officials, the extent to which federal laws and international agreements apply to geoengineering is unclear. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken steps to regulate one CDR approach and has determined that it has sufficient authority to regulate two other approaches. EPA officials said EPA has not assessed the applicability of other laws because geoengineering research is in its initial stages. Similarly, legal experts and Department of State officials said that, except for three instances, parties to international agreements have not addressed their agreements' applicability to geoengineering, largely due to limited geoengineering activity and awareness of the issue. Legal experts' and officials' views differed on the best approach for international governance, but generally agreed that the federal government should take a coordinated, interagency approach on domestic regulation. Experts and officials also identified governance challenges, such as the need to address liability.
Author: Michael B. Gerrard
Author: Michael B. Gerrard
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee
Author: David G. Victor
Author: Kerryn Brent
Author: Jesse L. Reynolds
Author: Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Select Committee on Science and Technology
Author: David Keith
Author: National Research Council
Author: Haomiao Du
Author: United States. Government Accountability Office