Ethics of Climate Geo-Engineering

Thursday, March 26th – 4:00PM

According to recent analyses by the World Resources Institute, Climate Analytics, and the WWF, the pledges made by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) put the world on course for temperature increases of 3-3.9 C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. This could have disastrous consequences for human institutions and natural ecosystems, including massive sea level rise, eradication of coral reefs throughout the world, and potentially catastrophic declines in agricultural production, especially in the global South. As a consequence, increasing attention has been devoted to a series of potential responses that were once considered “taboo,” and “forbidden territory,” climate geoengineering. Climate geoengineering is defined by the National Academy of Sciences as “options that would involve large-scale engineering of our environment in order to combat or counteract the effects of changes in atmospheric chemistry.” These methods include ocean iron fertilization, marine cloud albedo enhancement, stratospheric sulfate injection, air capture, and the use of planetary sunshades, all of which have the potential to substantially ameliorate, or reverse, current warming trends. At the same time, all of these schemes could have serious negative ramifications, including adverse regional impacts with momentous equitable implications, e.g. disruption of monsoonal cycles or increases in regional temperature trends, or potential global impacts, e.g. depletion of the ozone layer.

While geo-engineering was once considered to be “taboo” in the forum of climate change policymaking, the increasing desperation engendered by the specter of passing critical temperature thresholds has led to increasing interest in the approach, including by key stakeholders, including the U.S. Congress and U.K. Parliament, the UK’s Royal Society, and the National Academy of Science. Even President Obama’s chief science advisor has indicated that geo-engineering should “not be taken off the table” as a potential component of climate policymaking. The purpose of the two respective presentations will be to assess the potential benefits of climate geo-engineering, as well as potential negative impacts. The emphasis in both presentations will be on ethical considerations, including in the context of potential governance of geo-engineering research and development and/or deployment and the implications of geo-engineering for the principle of intergenerational equity.

Panelists

Dr. Ken Caldeira, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology

KenKen Caldeira is a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, where his job is “to make important scientific discoveries.” He also serves as a Professor (by courtesy) in the Stanford University Department of Environmental Earth System Science. Among Caldeira’s key contributions to science are his relatively early recognition of the threats posed by ocean acidification, his pioneering investigations into the environmental consequences of intentional intervention in the climate system (“geoengineering”), and the first peer-reviewed study to estimate near-zero-emission energy needs consistent with a 2°C climate stabilization target. He has also played a central role in helping to elucidate what our understanding of long-term geochemical cycles implies for the fate of today’s carbon dioxide emissions. Caldeira serves on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences panel on Geoengineering Climate: Technical Evaluation and Discussion of Impacts. He is also a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. In 2010, he was a co-author of the 2010 US National Academy America’s Climate Choices report and was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. He participated in the UK Royal Society geoengineering panel in 2009 and ocean acidification panel in 2005. Caldeira was coordinating lead author of the oceans chapter for the 2005 IPCC report on Carbon Capture and Storage.

Dr. Wil Burns, Co-Executive Director, Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment

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Wil Burns, PhD, is a Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service, at American University.  From 2012 to 2014 he founded and directed the MS in Energy Policy and Climate Program at Johns Hopkins University, where he taught courses in domestic and international climate change law and domestic energy law. He holds a PhD in International Environmental Law from the University of Wales-Cardiff School of Law. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the International Environmental Law Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association and is the President of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences. He is also the former Co-Chair of the International Environmental Law interest group of the American Society of International Law. He has taught at Williams College, Colby College, Santa Clara University School of Law and the Monterey Institute of International Studies of Middlebury College.

Prior to becoming an academic, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs for the State of Wisconsin and worked in the non-governmental sector for twenty years, including as Executive Director of the Pacific Center for International Studies, a think-tank that focused on implementation of international wildlife treaty regimes, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. He has published over 75 articles in law, science, and policy journals and has co-edited four books. His current areas of research focus are: climate geoengineering; international climate change litigation; adaptation strategies to address climate change, with a focus on the potential role of microinsurance; the effectiveness of international treaty regimes to conserve cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises); and how to effectively operationalize the precautionary principle in international environmental treaty regimes.

Moderator

Dr. Lyuba Zarsky, Associate Professor for International Environmental Policy Program, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

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Professor Zarsky has a PhD in Economics and has a distinguished record of professional experience and publication in the fields of sustainable development and business and sustainability. She was Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability (1992-2001) and staff economist on the Commission for the Future for the Government of Australia (1989-1991). Since 1991, she has consulted to numerous international and national organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and the Government of Australia and Environment Institute at Tufts University in Boston (2002-present).

Professor Zarsky has a joint appointment with the International Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the International Environmental Policy (IEP) programs in the Graduate School of International Policy and Management. She leads the Business, Sustainability and Development track in the IEP program and coordinates the Joint MBA-International Environmental Policy program which trains students to be leaders in business sustainability initiatives. Her courses on Business, Sustainability and Society and Business Models for Sustainable Developmentprovide cutting edge knowledge and skills for students seeking to harness market forces to address critical global problems such as climate change, poverty, and sustainable livelihoods.

Professor Zarsky is an affiliated faculty member with the Center for the Blue Economy and is  spearheading research on innovative approaches to private sector finance for climate resilient coastal infrastructure. She is also researching the costs and benefits of coal mining and port expansion near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage site.

4 thoughts on “Ethics of Climate Geo-Engineering

  1. Yes, geoengineering has already started, for quite some time. See Dane Wiggington’s presentation to the Shasta City Council. Also, there is a Geoengineering awareness lecture/panel at the Maar Theatre in Redding, CA on August 14, 2015.

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