Geoengineering: Climate experts rather skeptical according to study

Many climate experts from the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are skeptical about geoengineering. This refers to targeted interventions in geochemical or biochemical cycles of the earth. Fifty-three percent of respondents do not want to include the issue in international negotiations, and 43 percent see no need to invest more money in research and development of these technologies. Even in a climate crisis, only about half of the respondents would support the use of such technologies.

Above all, those who expect massive global climate damage and are more pessimistic about current climate policies are skeptical.  "That surprised us," says Prof. Dr. Astrid Dannenberg from the Institute of Economics at the University of Kassel, "surely there are moral reasons for that." Many experts, she says, see geoengineering as a massive environmental intervention with uncertain side effects. 

It's different for climate experts who are affected themselves. "If they come from countries that will suffer greatly from climate change, experts are usually more open to geoengineering," says research associate Sonja Zitzelsberger.  "So it makes a difference whether they take the global perspective or look at the damage in their own country," Zitzelsberger says.

Geoengineering is the term used to describe certain measures to combat global warming. One example would be the idea of injecting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. The sulfur particles are supposed to reflect sunlight and thus reduce global warming. Potential side effects of geoengineering are difficult to calculate. However, it is relatively cheap compared to cutting_{CO2 emissions}.

"These scientists and negotiators, despite their influence, have not been consulted before about the future role of geoengineering," Dannenberg says.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is an international climate change agreement among 197 countries. The convention's goal is to prevent dangerous man-made disruption of the climate system. Every year, delegations from countries and various organizations meet at a climate conference (Conference of Parties) to negotiate measures to achieve this goal. In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was agreed upon here.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental organization that summarizes the state of research on climate change and provides a basis for science-based decisions.

Link to the study: https://rdcu.be/bP6Ic

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Astrid Dannenberg
University of Kassel
Institute of Economics
Email: dannenberg[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
Tel.: +49 561 804-3758