Last week’s “Freaky Friday” seminar, by Prof. Nigel Roulet, introduced me to the whole new world of geoengineering. The speaker highlighted some aspects of geoengineering and addressed the issue of why the epistemic community and policy makers are contemplating it as a feasible mechanism to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions. Prof. Roulet presented various geoengineering approaches to climate change, such as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and reflecting the sun’s energy away from earth.
Coincidentally, I have recently seen a geoengineering Peruvian proposal on painting the country´s melting glaciers white as to throw back solar radiation and, thus, minimize global warming. Such a proposal has won a contest promoted by the World Bank on “100 ideas to save the planet”. This suggests that geoengineering is becoming less science fiction and more real. Can geoengineering be regarded as an effective solution to climate change? Will it substitute Kyoto? At this point, it might be in order speculating about some social implications with regard to geoengineering and the Kyoto Protocol.
Indeed, I believe that those issues might reflect social preferences and desires. So far, our desires are intrinsically connected to consumption. Although consumption and production are considered sources of GHG emissions, they also aim to promote the so-called social welfare. Thus, both consumption and production embody the notions of pleasure and satisfaction. On this basis, embracing Kyoto would represent incorporating new values and therefore different paths towards happiness.
If geoengineering substitutes Kyoto, the message will be loud and clear: “we don´t want to change our habits”. In other words, if we opt for a system purely based on the production and consumption of goods, GHG emissions will persist and will increase. In this context, choosing geoengineering over Kyoto might indicate what people believe to be important about the environment and, ultimately, what should be the priorities for environmental policy.
Tags: choices, geoengineering, GHG emissions, Kyoto