‘In case of emergency press here’: framing geoengineering as a response to dangerous climate change

In recent years, a number of powerful arguments have been given for thinking that there should be suprastate institutions, and that the current ones, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and United Nations Security Council, need to be radically reformed and new ones created. Two distinct kinds of argument have been advanced. One is instrumental and emphasizes the need for effective suprastate political institutions to realize some important substantive ideals (such as preventing dangerous climate change, eradicating poverty, promoting fair trade, and securing peace). The second is procedural and emphasizes the importance of political institutions that include all those subject to their power in as democratic a process as possible, and builds on this to call for democratically accountable international institutions. In this chapter, the author argues that the two approaches need not conflict, and that they can in fact lend support to each other.

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Situating and Abandoning Geoengineering: A Typology of Five Responses to Dangerous Climate Change

Political Science and Politics ◽

10.1017/s1049096512001436 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 46 (01) ◽

pp. 23-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Clare Heyward

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Solar Radiation Management ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Political Issues ◽

Government Organizations ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Potential Strategy ◽

Dangerous Climate Change ◽

Radiation Management

Geoengineering, the “deliberate, large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment in order to counteract anthropogenic climate change” (Shepherd et al. 2009, 1), is attracting increasing interest. As well as the Royal Society, various scientific and government organizations have produced reports on the potential and challenge of geoengineering as a potential strategy, alongside mitigation and adaptation, to avoid the vast human and environmental costs that climate change is thought to bring (Blackstock et al. 2009; GAO 2010; Long et al. 2011; Rickels et al. 2011). “Geoengineering” covers a diverse range of proposals conventionally divided into carbon dioxide removal (CDR) proposals and solar radiation management (SRM) proposals. This article argues that “geoengineering” should not be regarded as a third category of response to climate change, but should be disaggregated. Technically, CDR and SRM are quite different and discussing them together under the rubric of geoengineering can give the impression that all the technologies in the two categories of response always raise similar challenges and political issues when this is not necessarily the case. However, CDR and SRM should not be completely subsumed into the preexisting categories of mitigation and adaptation. Instead, they can be regarded as two parts of a five-part continuum of responses to climate change. To make this case, the first section of this article discusses whether geoengineering is distinctive, and the second situates CDR and SRM in relation to other responses to climate change.

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Avoiding dangerous climate change: Strategies for mitigation

Human Development Report 2007-2008 - Human Development Report ◽

10.18356/9066fe8a-en ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 109-161

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Change Strategies ◽

Dangerous Climate Change

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Negotiating to avoid “gradual” versus “dangerous” climate change: an experimental test of two prisoners’ dilemmas

Toward a New Climate Agreement ◽

10.4324/9780203080009-14 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 91-105

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Experimental Test ◽

Dangerous Climate Change

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5. Climate change impacts

10.1093/actrade/9780198867869.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 64-89

Author(s):

Mark Maslin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Health Policy ◽

Ocean Acidification ◽

Human Health ◽

Extreme Events ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Climate Science ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Shifting Baseline ◽

Dangerous Climate Change

‘Climate change impacts’ assesses the potential impacts of climate change and how these alter in scale and intensity with increasing warming by breaking down the potential impacts into sectors: extreme heat and droughts, storms and floods, agriculture, ocean acidification, biodiversity, and human health. Policy-makers should identify what dangerous climate change is. We need a realistic target concerning the degree of climate change with which we can cope. Fortunately, the societal coping range is flexible and can change with the shifting baseline and the more frequent extreme events—as long as there is strong climate science to provide clear guidance on what sort of changes are going to occur.

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2. Why do we need renewables?

Renewable Energy: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198825401.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 16-29

Author(s):

Nick Jelley

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Internal Combustion Engines ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Wind Farms ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Net Zero ◽

Dangerous Climate Change ◽

Low Carbon Energy

‘Why do we need renewables?’ describes the dangers of fossil fuels and explains the importance of renewable energy as an alternative. It shows that the use of fossil fuels causes global warming and climate change, leading to widespread concern, and also to a growing realization of the harm caused by the air pollution from coal burning and from internal combustion engines in cars and lorries. These threats are causing a switch away from fossil fuels to renewables that is gaining impetus from the growing awareness of the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather seen in recent years. This transition is also being aided by the falling price of clean energy from renewables, in particular, solar and wind farms, which will become the dominant sources. The area of land or sea required for these farms is readily available, as are the back-ups required to handle their variability. Alternative supplies of low-carbon energy are examined. In the Paris Agreement in 2015, it was recognized that carbon dioxide emissions must reach net-zero by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change.

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5. Climate change impacts

Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198719045.003.0005 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 68-97

Author(s):

Mark Maslin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Storm Surges ◽

Well Being ◽

Coastal Cities ◽

Global Biodiversity ◽

Dangerous Climate Change ◽

Water And Food Security

What is dangerous climate change? What is our coping range? ‘Climate change impacts’ assesses the potential effects of climate change on the natural environment as well as on human societies and our economies. Climate change impacts will increase significantly as global temperature rises. Climate change will affect the return period and severity of floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms. Coastal cities and towns will be especially vulnerable as sea-level rise will worsen the effects of floods and storm surges. Water and food security and public health will become the most important problems facing all countries. Climate change also threatens global biodiversity and the well being of billions of people.

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