What if we were to tell you that July 2023 has been the hottest month on Earth? Truth be told, since 1850, the Earth’s temperature has increased by 2° F, leading to life on this planet fighting against the environmental concern of climate change. With efforts directed toward solving the bigger problem, discussions have suggested “geoengineering” as a solution to the crisis of climate change. However, we at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences, one of the renowned environmental science colleges in Delhi NCR, firmly believe that this solution is trapped in the authenticity debate.
In this blog post today, we will attempt to address the above question and determine whether geoengineering is the solution we seek or a pandora’s box for climate change.
What is geoengineering?
Before we jump to dissecting geoengineering, especially its relevance to the problem of climate change, it is in everyone’s interest to first understand what this concept really entails.
Geoengineering involves carrying out large-scale interventions in the Earth’s natural systems with the objective of counteracting or mitigating risks associated with the problem of climate change.
Geoengineering is divided into two categories—solar radiation management (SRM) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Let us now look at its pros and cons.
Ways in which geoengineering contributes to climate change:
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Active participation in climate impact mitigation:
Solar Radiation Management (SRM), which happens to be a pivotal wing of geoengineering, involves sending a small portion of sunlight back to the sun in an attempt to fight global warming.
In the process, global temperatures are pulled down, thus contributing to the climate change concern. This is probably the reason why it is said that this method produces outcomes faster than emissions reduction alone.
What we at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences see as the cherry on the cake is geoengineering helping the planet to buy time as far as transitioning to a low-carbon economy or adapting to climate impact is concerned.
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Carbon Removal:
Speaking of climate change, we cannot overlook the number one trigger to this problem, which is carbon dioxide. Hence, beating the problem of climate change shall begin by eliminating CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
This is where geoengineering’s carbon dioxide removal wing comes to the rescue. By introducing solutions such as direct air capture and reforestation, complementing emissions reduction becomes possible while achieving the net-zero goals. Ocean fertilization proves an equally great measure in this regard.
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Assistance to Tipping Points:
What many of you may not know is that geoengineering also contributes to stabilizing the other tipping points by preventing or delaying them. For example, geoengineering plays a central role in coral reef bleaching, where lower ocean temperatures help protect the reefs from thermal stress.
On the other hand, permafrost thawing has to do with reduced warming, slowing down the release of methane and carbon dioxide from permafrost thawing into the environment.
Many say this is just a one-sided story, as geoengineering falls short of offering a complete and foolproof solution. Let us now explore if that is true.
Is geoengineering a foolproof solution to climate change?
While the above solutions are relevant and application-worthy, certain precautionary measures are a must to prevent geoengineering from becoming a pandora’s box.
As we spoke of SRM being a solid methodology to fight climate change, it is important to understand the limits, as surpassing these can make the weather erratic, with the planet being subjected to natural calamities like floods and droughts.
Again, in the case of ocean fertilization, where the content of nutrients in marine bodies is altered, it is vital to ensure that no marine life is impacted in the process.
We also spoke about how geoengineering can delay the need to reduce emissions from the planet, which may further make man commit hazardous mistakes against the interest of climate change.
At the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences, we believe that one of the best ways of beating climate change is initiating systemic changes, which geoengineering as a technological fix may come in the way of.
Most importantly, there is no clarity on ethical standards, governance, and risks involved, as far as taking geoengineering-backed actions to fight climate change goes.
From this, we can say that just like there is a bright side to geoengineering, there is a little dark side too, which cannot be ignored.
Summing Up:
At the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences, one of the renowned environmental science colleges in Delhi NCR, we believe that geoengineering as a solution to fighting climate change cannot be fully ruled out. However, we cannot really overlook the lack of clarity, policies, and relevance of outcomes regards the application of geoengineering.
We feel this is a futuristic solution, which, if not possible to implement immediately, can always be implemented at a future date. Also, it would be wise to use this in unison with other strategies to fight climate change in order to derive optimum results.