'Solar geoengineering is not happening yet, but there has been quite a lot of research in that direction and the technology is essentially ready to go'
Is the technology really ready? Looks like we have a controversy on this notion of "technological readiness" too......... On Fri, May 6, 2022 at 2:30 AM Geoeng Info <[email protected]> wrote: > > https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/solar-geoengineering-to-cool-the-planet-not-if-but-when-1.4859423 > > Solar geoengineering to cool the planet: Not if, but when > > Controlling the world’s changing climate with the use of geoengineering is > thought to be fraught with risks. Imagine a rogue actor taking control of > the climate, impacting the weather, storms, and rainfall with implications > for the global economy and society in general – the stuff of James Bond > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=James+Bond> > villains > in the Putin era. > > But many researchers and politicians argue geoengineering as a very real > solution. Solar geoengineering in particular, the notion of cooling Earth > by reflecting sunlight back into space, is increasing in popularity. But > this ambition would require huge global coordination. > > Austrian researcher Gernot Wagner > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Gernot+Wagner> > is > a climate economist, academic and author who describes himself as a > reluctant proponent of geoengineering. He is the founding co-director of > Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_company=Geoengineering+Research> > Programme. > > In his recent book, Geoengineering: The Gamble, he provides his take on > the possible benefits and risks of various approaches, especially the > so-called “moral hazard”; that researching or even discussing > geoengineering would undermine the race to cut carbon emissions in the > first place. > > Despite those risks, he argues that an era of solar geoengineering may be > an inevitability – not a question of if, but when – and a crucial component > of what he terms climate economics. This interview was conducted via video > call. > > *What is a climate economist?* > > A walking living oxymoron, right? Not too long ago, when I told people I > am a climate economist, the first response was generally one of confusion. > You can either worry about interest rates and unemployment, or you worry > about birds, bees and the climate scenario – but not both. > > I don’t know what changed over the past few years. Obviously, it depends > on the country and I feel that Ireland <https://www.irishtimes.com/news> and > some other countries European nations grasped this earlier, but in many > other places, like here in the US, that change happened much more recently, > where suddenly it’s become completely obvious that the climate is such an > all-encompassing issue that it is completely related to the economy. > > So let’s call the climate economist the person who can help guide market > forces in the right direction to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. > Climate economics is about focusing on pricing climate risk and figuring > out what to do about it. > > Geoengineering is a kind of stepchild of climate policy, and frankly it > should be, for good reason. Step one in climate policy is to coordinate how > we cut net carbon emissions to zero. Step two is adapting properly – > adapting to what’s already in store. That’s where geoengineering comes in. > > We’ve been beating the drum about cutting carbon emissions forever but we > haven’t solved climate change yet. So geoengineering is this notion of > altering the atmosphere so as to reduce the impact of a rapidly changing > climate. Carbon capture is one example where carbon is literally sucked out > of the air. > > It’s technically possible and is already being used at small scales, but > is very expensive. A cheaper solution, but one which is more controversial > – and is the focus of most of my work – is solar geoengineering, an > approach which aims to reflect sunlight, that is to say, energy and > radiation, back into space in an attempt to cool the planet. > > *How does solar geoengineering work in practice?* > > Well, the idea is to deliberately release millions of tonnes of very small > reflective particles into the lower stratosphere, which act together to > reflect just enough sunlight to cool the Earth to a desired level. We know > that it will work because volcanoes have been doing this since time began. > > 'Solar geoengineering is not happening yet, but there has been quite a lot > of research in that direction and the technology is essentially ready to go' > > When a volcano erupts, it sends up all these particles into the > atmosphere, eventually causing a cooling below due to their reflective > properties. The difference in the case of solar geoengineering, of course, > is that there is no violent explosion. It’s important to note that solar > geoengineering is not happening yet, but there has been quite a lot of > research in that direction and the technology is essentially ready to go. > > *How would this work economically?* > > Economically, the idea would translate to a very low-cost solution > relative to unmitigated climate change on the one hand, which of course, in > many ways is the most expensive thing we can do. > > That is what we are currently doing, by the way, not cutting carbon > emissions by enough. On the other hand, solar geoengineering is also low > cost relative to cutting emissions. Those are the attractive properties of > the approach: it is cheap and it is fast, the results realised within weeks > and months. That means it could be very important in the future. > > *Are there sufficient avenues for realistic international cooperation?* > > At a high level we already have the structures in place to allow world > leaders to talk to each other and come to agreement on things that are, > frankly, highly controversial. We already have organisations like the UN’s > Security > Council > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=Security+Council> > and General Assembly > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=General+Assembly>. > We have bilateral diplomacy and the G20 > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=G20> > . > > We have the UN climate talks and the UN Environment Programme. We have > these forums where more than 190 countries come together and solely talk > about the environment. So I think there should be no problem to engage in a > real discussion around geoengineering at that level. > [image: Austrian climate economist Gernot Wagner worries that > geoengineering could create a moral hazard by encouraging politicians to > give up on more conventional approaches to tackling climate change.]Austrian > climate economist Gernot Wagner argues that an era of solar geoengineering > may be an inevitability – not a question of if, but when – and a crucial > component of what he terms climate economics. > > Governance is essentially nothing other than just having conversations > amongst heads of state. I think we need to focus more conversation in the > direction of geoengineering and have structured and thoughtful > conversations around the finer details, like carbon capture on the one > hand, and solar geoengineering on the other, and make decisions about which > approaches to follow. > > *Aren’t the risks of using solar geoengineering ultimately just too high?* > > The biggest hesitancy around solar geoengineering has nothing to do with > the physical risks. For the most part, it is all about about the risks of > having solar geoengineering detract from the need to cut emissions in the > first place. > > That’s what often comes under the heading of moral hazards. Here in the > US, Newt Gingrich > <https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Newt+Gingrich>, > the former speaker of the House of Representatives who is a very prominent > Republican politician, once made a statement that we don’t need to tax > carbon, because hey, look, we’ve just discovered this new thing called > solar geoengineering and we can solve the problem easily. > > 'I’m not trying to diminish this very real moral hazard that researching > or even just discussing geoengineering would undermine the push to cut > carbon emissions' > > Now that is insane, and dangerous. No sensible person would make this > argument. So, to be clear, I’m not trying to diminish this very real moral > hazard that researching or even just discussing geoengineering would > undermine the push to cut carbon emissions. > > As for the risk of a rogue actor taking control of the climate, even if > people do come to the conclusion that solar geoengineering is too much of a > threat, if nations believe that it could be used irresponsibly or > dangerously, then we could perhaps adopt some reverse psychology and use > the threat of solar geoengineering as a reason to wake people up to the > need to cut emissions in the first place. Now there’s a thought. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAKSzgpY39rBPOOfoYt%3DBKagC%3DkO9FjuqCARV9nuiARQyZ5QW6A%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAKSzgpY39rBPOOfoYt%3DBKagC%3DkO9FjuqCARV9nuiARQyZ5QW6A%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- With Best Wishes, ------------------------------------------------------------------- G. Bala Professor Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore - 560 012 India Tel: +91 80 2293 3428; +91 80 2293 2505 Fax: +91 80 2360 0865; +91 80 2293 3425 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Google Scholar <https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eurjQPwAAAAJ> ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAD7fhVmHv%2BfkXaoHUtxHUa1%3DZc4N4WvSjti14%2BpdCBpAG5Axqw%40mail.gmail.com.
