GEOENGINEERING THE CLIMATE: ETHICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR RADIATION MANAGEMENT

Abstract

This paper examines aseismic Solar Radiation Management (SRM) as a comprehensive dimension of its ethical and environmental risks with emphasis on using stratospheric aerosol injection to alter the climate.  By method, we took a mixed-methods approach to examine the environmental impact and ethical concerns associated with SRM. This was achieved through a mixture of quantitative modeling of the earth systems and qualitative engagement of the stakeholders.  The simulation of climate models at two different SRM scenarios (5 and 10 Tg SO 2 injections) indicated that world temperatures may fall by up to 1.3 o C. Nevertheless, the variation between territories was rather large, in particular with regard to quantity of precipitation and concentration of ozone.  It has been discovered that marine biodiversity and UV exposure were put in danger as marine ecosystems and ozone levels in high latitudes were affected.  An Equity Deviation Index was used to gauge the impact of the various regions and it established our concerns of an environmental justice.  Meanwhile, Delphi analysis and systematic interviewing in various disciplines with stakeholders revealed such ethical priorities as global justice, transparency, sovereignty, and a fair intergenerational game.  The Delphi rounds revealed that an increasing number of the interviewees were convinced that we require robust precautionary principles and systems of global governance.  Cross-impact matrices indicated that areas of large climatic risk and areas with greatest moral objections were in tune giving indications of governance hotspots.  A governance readiness index also revealed that the capacity of institutions in the Global South to perform their jobs is also big.  On the whole, these findings demonstrate that SRM can contribute to the climate in a certain respect, but it has gigantic moral and environmental expenses.  According to the report, SRM can be only applied in a strictly supervised global context, in addition to, rather than as a replacement of the intensive action to reduce emissions.  The proposed framework provides a model that can be employed in assessing geoengineering concepts in their entirety.