A conversation about the boundaries that need to be established in the experiments of geoengineering has began by experts.
Attention is drawn in the field of geoengineering to slow global warming. From intervening in the polar ice meltdown to cooling the atmosphere with special aerosols sucking carbon dioxide out of the air, a number of technologies that could potentially alter the climate system have been proposed. With the temperature of the planet constantly rising, the possibility of large-scale geoengineering projects is feasible. Taking into consideration their global effect and the impact of a mistaken approach on such experiments, world leaders should consider a conversation about how the international community should regulate geoengineering.
Scientists have categorized the global climate geoengineering into two major categories, carbon removal and solar geoengineering.
Carbon removal concerns the use of special technology to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, lowering global temperatures in the process. The most examined methods involves the plantation of enormous trees to absorb carbon dioxide while harvesting the trees for energy and collecting their carbon emissions with carbon-capture technology. This procedure would be carbon negative. Concerns about such an attempt include the amount of land, water and other natural resources the process would require at a large scale.
Solar geoengineering would aim in reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface, thus cooling the planet. One of the most popular solution involves spraying reflective aerosols high into the atmosphere, where they would reflect sunlight away from the Earth. Some scientists believe that such an intervention could provoke unintended effects on the weather or damage to the planet's protective ozone layer. Because most research on solar geoengineering has been restricted to modeling studies, there's disagreement among experts about the possibility, or seriousness, of these potential side effects. According to David Keith, a Harvard University engineer and a member of C2G2's (Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative) advisory group, these risks are "small." He and other Harvard scientists, including atmospheric chemistry expert Frank Keutsch, are planning a series of small-scale field experiments. It's the first of their kind, and the researchers hope they will provide more information on the physical behavior of aerosols in the atmosphere. While, small scale experiments do not pose a threat to the system, their implementation implies that geoengineering is moving from theory to reality. Another issue that emerges from the usage of reflective aerosols is the maintenance of the reflective layer. Aerosols don't last forever in the atmosphere, and nations would have to periodically spray them into the air. If a reason, some countries decide to stop spraying, the consequence would be temperature rise in which the ecosystems may not have the time to adjust.
C2G2's priority at the moment is reaching an international agreement. Regarding solar geoengineering, in particular, its formal approach, presented to the U.N. Environment Programme, calls for "international agreements to help prevent the deployment of solar geoengineering unless (i) the risks and potential benefits are sufficiently understood, and (ii) international governance frameworks are agreed". Keith, for his part, is skeptical of the need for a specific international protocol for geoengineering research. He argues that it's important not to stifle science in up-and-coming areas, as long as it's safe and ethical.
Source: Scientificamerican.com
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