Syllabus
GS Paper 3 – Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Context
UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) has published its first-ever report on the Ethics of Climate Engineering.
Introduction
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) underscored the significance of involving vulnerable, overlooked, and marginalized individuals, as well as women, youth, and indigenous people, as key stakeholders in policy decisions related to the controversial area of climate engineering in its report on the Ethics of Climate Engineering. This report was published ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The topic of climate engineering has gained momentum following the Emissions Gap Report’s warning that the world would exceed the warming limit of 2 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial era by 2030, even if the current nationally determined contributions are fulfilled.
Climate Engineering
- Climate engineering, also known as geoengineering, is the intentional alteration of the Earth’s climate system in order to counteract or alleviate the impacts of climate change.
- This involves a variety of methods aimed at either deflecting sunlight away from the Earth or extracting greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
- The growing attention towards climate engineering techniques is due to the existing gap between climate policy goals and the required reductions in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
Climate engineering is divided into two main categories:
Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
- CDR techniques focus on the removal and storage of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. There are five main approaches under CDR:
- Direct air capture: This involves capturing CO2 directly from the ambient air.
- Land-use management: This includes afforestation and reforestation to absorb CO2.
- Sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2): This involves capturing CO2 produced by biomass that can also be used as an energy source.
- Ocean uptake enhancement: This technique increases the uptake of CO2 by the ocean.
- Enhancing natural weathering processes: These processes help in removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
According to a report in the journal Nature, new CDR technologies have only achieved about 0.1% of carbon removal, approximately 2.3 million tonnes per year.
Solar Radiation Modification (SRM)
- SRM techniques aim to reflect more sunlight back into space, thereby reducing the amount of heat absorbed by the Earth. Some of the approaches under SRM include:
- Increasing the planet’s surface reflectivity
- Using reflective paints on structures
- Planting crops with high reflectivity
- Enhancing the reflectivity of marine clouds
- Removing infrared-absorbing clouds
- Injecting aerosols into the lower stratosphere: This mimics the cooling effect induced by volcanic eruptions.
- Placing reflectors or shields in space: This reduces the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth.
Benefits of Climate Engineering
- Quick Response to Climate Change: These techniques are designed to cool the Earth rapidly by either reflecting sunlight away from the planet or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Regulation of Global Temperatures: Climate engineering could supplement mitigation and adaptation strategies by helping to control global temperatures, thereby reducing the intensity of heatwaves, extreme weather events, and sea level rise.
- Emergency Measures: In situations where climate change impacts become catastrophic and there’s an immediate need to cool the planet, certain forms of climate engineering might be considered as emergency responses.
- Addressing Specific Climate Threats: Climate engineering techniques could be tailored to tackle specific climate threats, such as safeguarding vulnerable ecosystems or mitigating the effects of certain extreme weather events.
- Research and Learning Opportunities: Research in the field of climate engineering can provide valuable insights into the potential outcomes, limitations, and risks associated with large-scale interventions.
Ethical and Practical Challenges of Climate Engineering
- Moral Hazard: Climate engineering could potentially create a “moral hazard” by giving stakeholders an excuse to continue using fossil fuels instead of reducing their usage. It’s crucial to view these techniques as part of a wider range of climate policies, thus moving away from the moral hazard framework.
- Organized Irresponsibility: The issue of “organized irresponsibility” arises in climate engineering, where the interconnectedness and shared environmental risks among institutions make it difficult to assign blame due to the lack of clear individual accountability.
- Undermining Climate Policies: There’s a risk that climate engineering could divert resources away from essential emission reduction and adaptation efforts.
- Economic Inequalities: The high costs associated with the development and deployment of these technologies could potentially worsen global economic inequalities.
- Slippery Slope: Without an ethical framework, the deployment of these technologies could accelerate, potentially impacting biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Military or Geo-political Use: There’s a risk that geoengineering tools could be used for military or geopolitical purposes, highlighting the need for robust global governance efforts.
- Knowledge Gaps and Uncertainties: The lack of a comprehensive understanding of these technologies and potential chain reactions pose risks to humans, oceans, temperature, and biodiversity.
- Dependency and Phase-out Challenges: Dependency on these technologies raises questions about when and how to phase them out, which could impact climate actions.
- Transboundary Impact: Countries need to consider the potential transboundary impacts of their climate engineering decisions.
Recommendations for Climate Engineering Governance
- Governance and Justice: Decisions on climate engineering techniques should be guided by an ecosystem-flourishing approach, intergenerational and distributive justice considerations. Factors such as scientific knowledge, the specificity of the technology under consideration, and the degree of uncertainty in the likely outcome of the implementation should be taken into account.
- Participation and Inclusiveness: A multilevel, polycentric, participatory approach should be encouraged for all climate actions, including climate engineering. This approach should range from international cooperation to regional activities within local communities. It’s crucial to include vulnerable, neglected, and marginalized individuals and groups, women, youth, and indigenous people as key stakeholders.
- Role of Scientific Knowledge and Research: Scientific research on climate action, including climate engineering, should be free from unjustified interference by political or economic interests. The aim should be to reduce the uncertainties and risks of the different technologies. Attention should also be paid to potential conflicts of interest, transparency and accountability, and cultural implications.
- Strengthening Capacity: States should enhance their institutional, technological, and ethical capacities regarding climate action, including climate engineering. They should also support public and civic capacity-building activities.
- Role of Business and Industry: Businesses and industries should act ethically, follow relevant international standards, and collaborate closely with public sectors, including local governments and appropriate international organizations.
- Education, Awareness, and Advocacy: International organisations, state governments, civil societies, etc., should play a prominent role in increasing public understanding and awareness of the ethical challenges associated with climate actions, including climate engineering. They should also emphasize the importance of scientific and practical uncertainties, and the need for democratic participation and decision-making.
- Legal Regulation: States should introduce legislation regulating climate engineering to prevent harm.
- Ethical Research Standards: Scientific research must adhere to ethical standards consistent with international law.
- Transboundary Impact Consideration: Countries must assess and consider the transboundary impact of their climate engineering decisions.
- Global Governance Collaboration: Open and responsible collaboration between countries is crucial for effective global governance of climate engineering.
- Inclusive Decision-Making: Marginalized communities impacted by climate disruption should be fully considered and involved in climate engineering policies.
Conclusion
UNESCO has recommended its Member States to introduce legislation that regulates climate action while also considering the transboundary impact of their decisions on all human beings and ecosystems. It has called for regional agreements to avoid risks of unequal spatial distribution of effects and a ban on using climate engineering techniques as a weapon. It has also emphasized that political or economic interests should not interfere with scientific research on climate engineering.
The ongoing intergovernmental discussions at COP28 need to address the ethical implications of climate engineering to ensure alignment with ethical frameworks and commitments under the Paris Agreement. The UNESCO report highlights the ethical dimensions of climate engineering, underscoring the need for a delicate balance between tackling the immediate challenges posed by climate change and mitigating potential risks. It emphasizes the critical role of inclusive governance, scientific integrity, and ethical considerations in shaping the future course of climate action.
Source: Down to Earth
Practice Question
Critically examine the role of climate engineering as a strategy to address global warming. Discuss the ethical issues associated with it. (250 words)