Page 12 - aruba-today-20220608

A12 science
Wednesday 8 June 2022

New panels want to talk ethics, rules of

climate tinkering

likely to pass the 1.5-de-
gree mark in the 2030s.
"The climate change prob-
lem is at a point where
even extreme options
need to be thought about
seriously," Climate Over-
shoot Commission Execu-
tive Secretary Jesse Reyn-
olds said in a Monday in-
terview. "Now, to be clear,
thinking about them in-
cludes the possibility of re-
jecting them. But not think-
ing about them does not
Activists of the environment organization Greenpeace seem to be a responsible
protest with CO2 letters illuminated with flames in front of the path forward."
Brandenburg Gate against the climate change in Berlin, What's needed are ethical
Germany, May 6, 2021. guidelines before anything
Associated Press
is done to get the public
By SETH BORENSTEIN would be ready for debate trust, much like the scien-
AP Science Writer during the major interna- tific community did with
Tinkering with the planet's tional climate negotiations the possibility of human
air to cool Earth's ever- in November in Egypt. cloning, said AGU Execu-
warming climate is inching This shows the idea of "so- tive Director Randy Fiser
closer to reality enough lar geoengineering is finally said. If this doesn't hap-
so that two different high- getting serious," said Har- pen the public will have a
powered groups — one of vard University climate sci- giant backlash and won't
scientists and one of former entist David Keith, a leader trust the community, said
world leaders — are trying in the field. National Academy of Sci-
to come up with ethics and Both groups said they ences President Marcia
governing guidelines. aren't quite advocating McNutt, who has studied
On Thursday, the newly geoengineering, which in- the issue but declined a
formed Climate Overshoot cludes putting particles in spot on the AGU ethics
Commission — which in- the air to reflect sunlight or panel because of other
cludes the former presi- whiten clouds, or the less- commitments. An earlier
dents of Mexico, Niger and disputed carbon dioxide report by the academy
Kiribati, a former Canadian removal, such as technol- "spoke to the double moral
prime minister, the ex-chief ogy to suck carbon out of hazard of climate interven-
of World Trade Organiza- the air but also more na- tion: damned if you do,
tion and other national ture-based solutions such damned if you don't," Mc-
minister level officials — will as more trees and getting Nutt said.
have its first meeting in Italy oceans to sponge up more Opponents of geoengi-
in a 15-month process to carbon. neering — such as Penn-
come up with governance But the two groups say the sylvania State University
strategy on pulling car- ideas need to be discussed climate scientist Michael
bon dioxide out of the air, with global warming near- Mann — worry that just
lowering temperatures by ing and likely shooting talking about guidelines
reflecting sunlight with arti- past the international goal will make the tinkering
ficial methods and adapt- of limiting temperature more likely to occur in the
ing to climate change. increase to 1.5 degrees real world.
This month, the American Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahr- "I see it as a potentially cyn-
Geophysical Union, the enheit) since preindustrial ical maneuver to buy the
largest society of scientists times. The world has al- ostensible moral license to
who work on climate issues, ready warmed 1.1 degrees move forward with dan-
announced it was forming Celsius (2 degrees Fahren- gerous geoengineering
an ethics framework for heit) since the mid-1800s prescriptions," Mann said
"climate intervention" that and scientists say the world in an email. He said not
only could there be harm-
ful side effects, but it takes
the pressure off of cutting
fossil fuel emissions, which is
what's really needed.
Mann also said no one can
enforce ethics or gover-
nance rules, citing efforts to
prevent Russia from invad-
ing Ukraine, but McNutt
pointed to rules governing
international oceans.q