tech
‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks
A series in the Guardian recently declared “it’s time to talk about geoengineering.” So let’s talk about it. And let us start with some simple truths about this cluster of techno-optimistic “quick fixes” which purport to somehow offset our slow progress towards zeroing out planet-warming carbon emissions.
TL;DR
- Geoengineering proposals are techno-optimistic 'quick fixes' for climate change, aiming to offset carbon emissions.
- Solar geoengineering involves reducing sunlight, but its effects decay in years, unlike CO2 which persists for millennia.
- Implementing geoengineering infrastructure could take decades, leading to reliance and creating a 'termination shock' if stopped.
- Many schemes threaten polar environments and risk destabilizing the political climate.
- Geoengineering engages poorly understood aspects of the climate system, leading to significant uncertainty.
- There's a lack of rigorous scientific modeling and assessment for geoengineering scenarios and impacts.
- Small-scale experiments are insufficient to understand the risks of large-scale deployment.
- Funding is increasingly targeted at deployment technology development, often by for-profit companies, without adequate consideration of consequences.
- The development and potential deployment of geoengineering occur in the absence of governance, posing risks of unrestricted, profit-motivated actions.
- Geoengineering is seen as a diversion from the primary task of reducing fossil fuel emissions.