Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A Publishes Special Issue on Geo-engineering

2 September 2008

The journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A has published a special theme issue on geo-engineering in response to climate change. Philosophical Transactions, published by the UK’s Royal society, is the world’s longest-running scientific journal; the first issue appeared in March 1665.

In their introduction to the issue themed “Geoscale Engineering to Avert Dangerous Climate Change” Brian Launder and J. Michael T. Thompson, both of the University of Manchester, and who compiled the issue, wrote:

While the link between rising global temperatures and increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ has been known for more than a century, there is increasingly the sense that governments are failing to come to grips with the urgency of setting in place measures that will assuredly lead to our planet reaching a safe equilibrium. Today, the developed world is struggling to meet its (arguably inadequate) carbon-reduction targets while emissions by China and India have soared. Meanwhile, signs suggest that the climate is even more sensitive to atmospheric CO₂ levels than had hitherto been thought.

Alarmed by what are seen as inadequate responses by politicians, for a number of years some scientists and engineers have been proposing major ‘last-minute’ schemes that, if properly developed and assessed in advance, could be available for rapid deployment, should the present general concern about climate change be upgraded to a recognition of imminent, catastrophic and, possibly, irreversible increases in global temperatures with all their associated consequences. While such geoscale interventions may be risky, the time may well come when they are accepted as less risky than doing nothing.

The above sets out the main elements that have led Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A to publish a Theme Issue on such macro-engineering options and to subject them to critical appraisal by acknowledged experts from around the world.

The issue has three parts, the first of which provides a historical and philosophical overview combined with projections of future CO₂e levels and the foreseen capacity (or limitations) of conventional sequestration. The section, on indirect sequestration, gives examples of two of the approaches to limiting CO₂ growth, whether by ‘recycling’ or removal of carbon to the ocean depths. The third section, Albedo Enhancement, presents two schemes for raising the proportion of incoming sunlight reflected back into space.

Resources

• Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, Geoscale Engineering to Avert Dangerous Climate Change