Geoengineering Steps Forward
While some green technologies have become familiar and commonly used, a less familiar approach called geoengineering is causing concern but also gaining some momentum. Geoengineering could buy time for other innovations or be leveraged on a small scale to lessen the most acute effects of climate change on various ecological areas.
On Friday, Christopher Flavelle and David Gelles of The New York Times reported that the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) in the U.K. will fund geoengineering experiments there, with a focus on solar geoengineering. It is believed to be the first time a government will directly fund geoengineering research.
Definitions of the term geoengineering have gone through some changes. The concept is presented differently depending on perspective. For example, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which takes a skeptical view of geoengineering defines it as, “large or planetary-scale interventions in the earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and soils with the intention of counteracting only some of the effects of climate change.” However, a 2019 MIT Technology Review article sought to give context to the term. “The word geoengineering suggests a planetary-scale technology. But some researchers have looked at the possibility of conducting it in localized ways as well, exploring various methods that might protect coral reefs, coastal redwoods, and ice sheets.”
In June the journal Nature published an article that surveyed people in twenty-two countries to learn about public perception of geoengineering. One key takeaway from the report was that “global South groups exhibit greater hope but an arguably richer range of concerns for solar geoengineering, in the context of observable inequities in climate action and potential geopolitical conflict.” Generally, respondents had both hope and doubt that international, multi-lateral coordination on solar geoengineering would be achievable.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, solar engineering (SG) seeks to “slow global warming by increasing the amount of sunlight reflected back to space or by allowing more heat to escape Earth’s atmosphere.” It continues, “Global warming is caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat from the Sun within Earth’s atmosphere. Reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth, or allowing more heat to escape the atmosphere, could help to cool Earth’s surface.”
Green Tech Update provides context about news in green technology innovations and public policy changes related to the environment and climate change.
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NOTES:
U.K. geoengineering:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/13/climate/united-kingdom-geoengineering-research.html
Definitions:
https://www.ciel.org/issue/geoengineering/
Perceptions:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01518-0
SG: