scholarly journals Geoengineering the climate: an overview and update

2012 ◽  
Vol 370 (1974) ◽  
pp. 4166-4175 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Solar Radiation Management ◽  
Magic Bullet ◽  
List Type ◽  
Research Activity

The climate change that we are experiencing now is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases due to human activities, including burning fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation. There is now widespread belief that a global warming of greater than 2 ° C above pre-industrial levels would be dangerous and should therefore be avoided. However, despite growing concerns over climate change and numerous international attempts to agree on reductions of global CO 2 emissions, these have continued to climb. This has led some commentators to suggest more radical ‘geoengineering’ alternatives to conventional mitigation by reductions in CO 2 emissions. Geoengineering is deliberate intervention in the climate system to counteract man-made global warming. There are two main classes of geoengineering: direct carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management that aims to cool the planet by reflecting more sunlight back to space. The findings of the review of geoengineering carried out by the UK Royal Society in 2009 are summarized here, including the climate effects, costs, risks and research and governance needs for various approaches. The possible role of geoengineering in a portfolio of responses to climate change is discussed, and various recent initiatives to establish good governance of research activity are reviewed. Key findings include the following. — Geoengineering is not a magic bullet and not an alternative to emissions reductions. — Cutting global greenhouse gas emissions must remain our highest priority. (i) But this is proving to be difficult, and geoengineering may be useful to support it. — Geoengineering is very likely to be technically possible. (i) However, there are major uncertainties and potential risks concerning effectiveness, costs and social and environmental impacts. — Much more research is needed, as well as public engagement and a system of regulation (for both deployment and for possible large-scale field tests). — The acceptability of geoengineering will be determined as much by social, legal and political issues as by scientific and technical factors. Some methods of both types would involve release of materials to the environment, either to the atmosphere or to the oceans, in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The intended impacts on climate would in any case affect many or all countries, possibly to a variable extent. There are therefore inherent international implications for deployment of such geoengineering methods (and possibly also for some forms of research), which need early and collaborative consideration, before any deployment or large-scale experiments could be undertaken responsibly.

Situating and Abandoning Geoengineering: A Typology of Five Responses to Dangerous Climate Change

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (01) ◽  
pp. 23-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Heyward
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Radiation Management ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Potential Strategy ◽  
Dangerous Climate Change ◽  
Radiation Management

Geoengineering, the “deliberate, large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment in order to counteract anthropogenic climate change” (Shepherd et al. 2009, 1), is attracting increasing interest. As well as the Royal Society, various scientific and government organizations have produced reports on the potential and challenge of geoengineering as a potential strategy, alongside mitigation and adaptation, to avoid the vast human and environmental costs that climate change is thought to bring (Blackstock et al. 2009; GAO 2010; Long et al. 2011; Rickels et al. 2011). “Geoengineering” covers a diverse range of proposals conventionally divided into carbon dioxide removal (CDR) proposals and solar radiation management (SRM) proposals. This article argues that “geoengineering” should not be regarded as a third category of response to climate change, but should be disaggregated. Technically, CDR and SRM are quite different and discussing them together under the rubric of geoengineering can give the impression that all the technologies in the two categories of response always raise similar challenges and political issues when this is not necessarily the case. However, CDR and SRM should not be completely subsumed into the preexisting categories of mitigation and adaptation. Instead, they can be regarded as two parts of a five-part continuum of responses to climate change. To make this case, the first section of this article discusses whether geoengineering is distinctive, and the second situates CDR and SRM in relation to other responses to climate change.

scholarly journals The Race of Mankind: Global Warming In the 21rst Century

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Erik Lane
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Third World ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Financial Assistance ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Third World ◽  
First World

The implementation process of the global accord on climate change has to start now in order to be implementable. The decentralized process if implementation should take the lessons from the theory of policy implementation into account (Pressman & Wildavsky, 1984; Wildavsky, 1987). The dependency upon various forms of coal (wood, stone) and fossil fuels is so large in the Third World that only massive financial assistance from the First World can mean a difference for the COP21 objectives. And many advanced countries (except Uruguay) also need to make great changes to comply with COP21.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Refrigerants: Thermodynamic Properties of Low-GWP Fluids for Domestic Applications and Binary Systems for Low-Temperature Options

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Pierantozzi ◽  
Sebastiano Tomassetti ◽  
Giovanni Di Nicola
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Thermodynamic Properties ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Greenhouse Gasses ◽  
Low Global Warming Potential

The most commonly used refrigerants are potent greenhouse gasses that can contribute to climate change. Hydro-Fluoro-Olefins are low Global Warming Potential fluids. A summary of our experimental research activity on the thermodynamic properties of two environmentally friendly Hydro-Fluoro-Olefins, namely R1234yf and R1234ze(E), is reported. In particular, the measurements were performed with an isochoric apparatus and the apparatus specifically built to reach temperatures down to about 100 K. The data elaboration confirms the validity of the choice and that R1234yf and R1234ze(E) can be adopted in many domestic applications. Moreover, considering the reduction of the flammability issues of R1234yf and R1234ze(E), the properties of binary systems containing these fluids and carbon dioxide were analyzed. The presented mixtures could be very interesting for low-temperature applications such as cascade cycles.

Good enough tools for global warming policy making

2007 ◽  
Vol 365 (1853) ◽  
pp. 897-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.H Socolow ◽  
S.H Lam
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
List Type ◽  
Target Level ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Urgent Task ◽  
Great Pressure ◽  
Mitigation Effort ◽  
Industrial Level

We present a simple analysis of the global warming problem caused by the emissions of CO 2 (a major greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. We provide quantitative tools which enable policymakers and interested citizens to explore the following issues central to the global warming problem. At what rate are we permitted to continue to emit CO 2 after the global average atmospheric concentration has ‘stabilized’ at some chosen target level? The answer here provides the magnitude of the effort , measured by the necessary total reduction of today's global (annual) emissions rate to achieve stabilization. We shall see that stabilized emissions rates for all interesting stabilized concentration levels are much lower than the current emissions rate, but these small finite values are very important. Across how many years can we spread the total effort to reduce the annual CO 2 emissions rate from its current high value to the above-mentioned low and stabilized target value? The answer here provides the time-scale of the total mitigation effort for any chosen atmospheric concentration target level. We confirm the common understanding that targets below a doubling of the pre-industrial concentration create great pressure to produce action immediately, while targets above double the pre-industrial level can tolerate longer periods of inaction. How much harder is the future mitigation effort, if we do not do our share of the job now? Is it a good idea to overshoot a stabilization target? The quantitative answers here provide the penalty of procrastination . For example, the mitigation task to avoid doubling the pre-industrial level is a problem that can be addressed gradually, over a period extending more than a century, if started immediately, but procrastination can turn the effort into a much more urgent task that extends over only a few decades. We also find that overshooting target levels is a bad idea. The quality of public discourse on this subject could be much enhanced if ball-park quantitative answers to these questions were more widely known.

scholarly journals Climate predictions: the influence of nonlinearity and randomness

2012 ◽  
Vol 370 (1962) ◽  
pp. 1007-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael T. Thompson ◽  
Jan Sieber
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Statistical Properties ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
Systematic Biases ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Public Demand

The current threat of global warming and the public demand for confident projections of climate change pose the ultimate challenge to science: predicting the future behaviour of a system of such overwhelming complexity as the Earth's climate. This Theme Issue addresses two practical problems that make even prediction of the statistical properties of the climate, when treated as the attractor of a chaotic system (the weather), so challenging. The first is that even for the most detailed models, these statistical properties of the attractor show systematic biases. The second is that the attractor may undergo sudden large-scale changes on a time scale that is fast compared with the gradual change of the forcing (the so-called climate tipping).

scholarly journals The Impacts of Climate Change on Nigerian Ecosystems: A Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-291
Author(s):  
B. E. Ikumbur ◽  
S. Iornumbe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
The World ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is the single biggest environmental issue facing the world today. It has become a great challenge to our generation and its impact is felt in almost every society in the world. Nigeria is one of the most vulnerable countries in Africa. Nigeria as a developing nation with a population of about 200 million people is likely to be adversely impacted by climate change due to its vulnerability and low coping capabilities. Climate change is evidently linked to human actions, and in particular from the burning of fossil fuels and changes in global patterns of land use. The impacts of human activities, as well as those of natural phenomena on global warming, climate change, and the environment, were presented and discussed. Various manifestations of its impact are evident in Nigeria, which includes temperature rise, increase in draught, and scarcity of food instigated by irregularities in rainfall, over flooding, and so on. This paper examines the concepts of global warming and climate change; its impact on the Nigeria ecosystems. It highlights the climate change-related risks and hazards the nation could face if best practices are not employed to prevent and mitigate its impact. Two sets of measures have been advocated for confronting climate change, these are mitigation and adaptation measures. The review explores possible adaptation strategies that are required to respond to the climatic variations and suggests ways that these adaptation strategies can be implemented.

scholarly journals Restoration ecologists might not get what they want: Global change shifts trade-offs among ecosystem functions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Fiedler ◽  
José A.F. Monteiro ◽  
Kristin B. Hulvey ◽  
Rachel J. Standish ◽  
Michael P. Perring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Trade Offs

ABSTRACTEcological restoration increasingly aims at improving ecosystem multifunctionality and making landscapes resilient to future threats, especially in biodiversity hotspots such as Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Successful realisation of such a strategy requires a fundamental mechanistic understanding of the link between ecosystem plant composition, plant traits and related ecosystem functions and services, as well as how climate change affects these relationships. An integrated approach of empirical research and simulation modelling with focus on plant traits can allow this understanding.Based on empirical data from a large-scale restoration project in a Mediterranean-type climate in Western Australia, we developed and validated the spatially explicit simulation model ModEST, which calculates coupled dynamics of nutrients, water and individual plants characterised by traits. We then simulated all possible combinations of eight plant species with different levels of diversity to assess the role of plant diversity and traits on multifunctionality, the provision of six ecosystem functions (covering three ecosystem services), as well as trade-offs and synergies among the functions under current and future climatic conditions.Our results show that multifunctionality cannot fully be achieved because of trade-offs among functions that are attributable to sets of traits that affect functions differently. Our measure of multifunctionality was increased by higher levels of planted species richness under current, but not future climatic conditions. In contrast, single functions were differently impacted by increased plant diversity. In addition, we found that trade-offs and synergies among functions shifted with climate change.Synthesis and application. Our results imply that restoration ecologists will face a clear challenge to achieve their targets with respect to multifunctionality not only under current conditions, but also in the long-term. However, once ModEST is parameterized and validated for a specific restoration site, managers can assess which target goals can be achieved given the set of available plant species and site-specific conditions. It can also highlight which species combinations can best achieve long-term improved multifunctionality due to their trait diversity.

scholarly journals Disjunctive Constellations: On Climate Change, Conjunctures and Cultural Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (102) ◽  
pp. 28-43
Author(s):  
Ben Highmore
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Critical Practice ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
The Everyday

The planetary scale of climate change challenges forms of conjunctural analyses that are based around the scale of national politics and culture. Global warming insists on planetary dimensions and invites us to treat humankind as a species that has developed a taste for fossil fuels. Critical cultural studies, and the human sciences more generally, seem founded on the principle that culture and society have historically worked to differentiate humans, and that the task of a critical practice is to investigate this process within and across specific geographical locales. How do we reconcile what seems to be an irreconcilable difference between cultural studies and climate change? Below I argue that, alongside the necessary work of conjunctural analysis, we should remember that the critical human sciences have other capacities that are more suited to negotiating the monstrous diversity of scales that global warming and the microcultures of the everyday articulate. Alongside conjunctural analysis I argue for the relevance of an approach that would posit 'disjunctive constellations' as objects for attention. While it might seem counter-intuitive, the disjunctive constellations I have in mind are at once more modest and (potentially) more expansive than a conjuncture. In my understanding, disjunctive constellations are not in opposition to conjunctures; they may well be the critical kernel at the heart of a conjunctural sensitivity.

scholarly journals Is Global Management of Anti-Global Warming Policies at All Feasible?

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Jan-Erik Lane
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Abrupt Climate Change ◽  
Rational Decision ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
The Social

Climate and earth scientists now predicting abrupt climate change never ask the social sciences whether large scale policy-making and international coordination, like the COP21 project, is all feasible. The message from policy analysis is that rational decision-making is a myth, as there is bound to be mistakes, confusion and opportunism in policy implementation. Is it better for each state to develop its own climate policy – the resilience option? However, when looking at energy planning by core states, one finds little of decarbonisation. Only Uruguay has good preparation for global warming. Abrupt climate change threatens numerous tipping points towards Hawking irreversibility. But the social sciences are skeptical about large scale policy implementation based upon comprehensively rational decision-making.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document