In this thesis, I approach geoengineering from an ethical perspective, largely in regards to moral worries surrounding it. Solar Radiation Management (SRM) as a climate mitigation strategy both bolsters positive results and threatens morally unacceptable outcomes. Marine and environmental policy often dictates the livelihood and well-being of humans, animals, and environments without a formal ethical appeal to their moral consequences. In this thesis, I explore SRM via an ethical evaluation of David Morrow's "Starting a Flood to Stop a Fire? Some Moral Constraints on Solar Radiation Management." In his paper, Morrow attacks the notion that geoengineering is “not forbidden by any moral constraint,” or in other words, he hopes to manifest moral worries surrounding it. Morrow presents two widely-accepted ethical doctrines that speak to the worries surrounding SRM by raising potential moral constraints: The Doctrine of Doing and Allowing and the Doctrine of Double Effect. I present arguments in objection to Morrow’s claims raising concerns with diaganologies and false assumptions in his paper. Ultimately, I conclude that although SRM faces many moral worries about uncertainty, risk, and field research, Morrow largely fails to highlight them using the doctrines discussed. In other words, I present major obstacles he must address before claiming that SRM faces specific moral constraints. This type of commentary sheds light upon the importance of ethical considerations in forming policies, and the complexities that call for attention in such philosophical discussions.

A collection of original and innovative essays that compare the justice issues raised by climate engineering to the justice issues raised by competing approaches to solving the climate problem.

The growing problem of changing environmental conditions caused by climate destabilization is well recognized as one of the defining issues of our time. The root problem is greenhouse gas emissions, and the fundamental solution is curbing those emissions. Climate geoengineering has often been considered to be a "last-ditch" response to climate change, to be used only if climate change damage should produce extreme hardship. Although the likelihood of eventually needing to resort to these efforts grows with every year of inaction on emissions control, there is a lack of information on these ways of potentially intervening in the climate system. As one of a two-book report, this volume of Climate Intervention discusses albedo modification - changing the fraction of incoming solar radiation that reaches the surface. This approach would deliberately modify the energy budget of Earth to produce a cooling designed to compensate for some of the effects of warming associated with greenhouse gas increases. The prospect of large-scale albedo modification raises political and governance issues at national and global levels, as well as ethical concerns. Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth discusses some of the social, political, and legal issues surrounding these proposed techniques. It is far easier to modify Earth's albedo than to determine whether it should be done or what the consequences might be of such an action. One serious concern is that such an action could be unilaterally undertaken by a small nation or smaller entity for its own benefit without international sanction and regardless of international consequences. Transparency in discussing this subject is critical. In the spirit of that transparency, Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth was based on peer-reviewed literature and the judgments of the authoring committee; no new research was done as part of this study and all data and information used are from entirely open sources. By helping to bring light to this topic area, this book will help leaders to be far more knowledgeable about the consequences of albedo modification approaches before they face a decision whether or not to use them.

Engineering the Climate: The Ethics of Solar Radiation Management discusses the ethical issues associated with deliberately engineering a cooler climate to combat global warming. Climate engineering (also known as geoengineering) has recently experienced a surge of interest given the growing likelihood that the global community will fail to limit the temperature increases associated with greenhouse gases to safe levels. Deliberate manipulation of solar radiation to combat climate change is an exciting and hopeful technical prospect, promising great benefits to those who are in line to suffer most through climate change. At the same time, the prospect of geoengineering creates huge controversy. Taking intentional control of earth’s climate would be an unprecedented step in environmental management, raising a number of difficult ethical questions. One particular form of geoengineering, solar radiation management (SRM), is known to be relatively cheap and capable of bringing down global temperatures very rapidly. However, the complexity of the climate system creates considerable uncertainty about the precise nature of SRM’s effects in different regions. The ethical issues raised by the prospect of SRM are both complex and thorny. They include: 1) the uncertainty of SRM’s effects on precipitation patterns, 2) the challenge of proper global participation in decision-making, 3) the legitimacy of intentionally manipulating the global climate system in the first place, 4) the potential to sidestep the issue of dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, and, 5) the lasting effects on future generations. It has been widely acknowledged that a sustained and scholarly treatment of the ethics of SRM is necessary before it will be possible to make fair and just decisions about whether (or how) to proceed. This book, including essays by 13 experts in the field of ethics of geoengineering, is intended to go some distance towards providing that treatment.

In this book, eleven prominent authorities on climate change consider the legal, policy, and philosophical issues presented by geoengineering. The book asks: When, if ever, are decisions to embark on potentially risky climate modification projects justified? If such decisions can be justified, in a world without a central governing authority, who should authorize such projects and by what moral and legal right?

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. The term ¿geoengineering¿ describes this array of technologies that aim, through large-scale and deliberate modifications of the Earth¿s energy balance, to reduce temperatures and counteract anthropogenic climate change. Most of these technologies are at the conceptual and research stages, and their effectiveness at reducing global temperatures has yet to be proven. Moreover, very few studies have been published that document the cost, environmental effects, sociopolitical impacts, and legal implications of geoengineering. Contents of this report: Intro.; Geoengineering Governance; Geoengineering Technologies; The Debate over the Methods of Oversight; The Debate over Oversight and Governmental Involvement; Conclusion. Illus.