Description
While direct global interventions to deal with global warming ('climate geoengineering') is sometimes claimed to be able to help ameliorate risks associated with global temperature rise, on the other hand, the physical and political side effects of geoengineering techniques, uncertainties surrounding their viability, and the political context in which deployment might take place might all generate novel security dilemmas. So far, the historical involvement of military actors in weather modification has not been openly replicated in interests in climate geoengineering techniques (such as stratospheric aerosol injection or marine cloud brightening). But how reasonable is it to anticipate security concerns or military interest regarding the regional or local impacts of such techniques, and military involvement in (and surveillance implications of) delivery mechanisms (stratospheric flights, robot vessels etc), amongst other things is still unclear. This round table provides an opportunity to consider whether and how security dynamics and practices might interact with climate geoengineering. Questions include: How might climate geoengineering constitute new forms of 'security'? Could security concerns arise over aspects of planetary scale ‘carbon geoengineering’ (or Negative Emissions Techniques)? Which geo-political and security interests might be served by or are already investigating climate geoengineering and why? What security justifications might be deployed for climate geoengineering? What new interests emerge in the securitization of climate geoengineering? How might such shifts interact with climate justice concerns and drivers?
