Climate Change, Climate Engineering, and the ‘Global Poor’: What Does Justice Require?

[ayesha iqbal]

Poster's note: Old but new to the list 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21550085.2018.1562525

Authors

Marion Hourdequin

2019

https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2018.1562525

Citation: Hourdequin, M. (2018). Climate change, climate engineering, and the ‘global poor’: What does justice require?. Ethics, Policy & Environment, 21(3), 270-288.

ABSTRACT

In recent work, Joshua Horton and David Keith argue on distributive and consequentialist grounds that research into solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering is justified because the resulting knowledge has the potential to benefit everyone, particularly the ‘global poor.’ I argue that this view overlooks procedural and recognitional justice, and thus relegates to the background questions of how SRM research should be governed. In response to Horton and Keith, I argue for a multidimensional approach to geoengineering justice, which entails that questions of how to govern SRM research should be addressed from the very outset – that is, now.

‘It’s an engineering problem, and it has engineering solutions.’ -Rex Tillerson, speaking on climate change at the Council on Foreign Relations, CEO speakers series, 27 June 2012

‘Does geoengineering raise any ethical issues not already considered by historical figures such as Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and so on? Isn’t the ethics of making decisions that affect others not involved in making the decisions a problem as old as humanity? I just don’t understand how there is anything new here for philosophy…’ -Stanford scientist Ken Caldeira, Geoengineering Google group, April 2012

‘Our government’s first duty is to its people, to our citizens – to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values. As President of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always, and should always, put your countries first.’ -Donald Trump, Speech to the United Nations General Assembly, September 19, 2017

KEYWORDS: Geoengineering, climate engineering, climate ethics, recognition, procedural justice

SOURCE: Taylor & Francis

[Russell Seitz]

In the light of  Hordequin's paper, the stratospheric experimenters at  Make Sunsets  should consider contributing its first  4.2 trillion dollars in income from the $10 a gram SO2  Cooling Credits it advertises to disaster relief in  the Kingdom of  Tonga, as Nature  reports the 5 January 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai  eruption injected  ~ .42 Tg —  420,000,000,000 grams of SO2 into the stratosphere. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01568-2

[donn viviani]

I understand it's thought that SAI diffracted light could increase some terrestrial growth because the light penetrates deeper into the canopy and possibly engages chlorophyll on leaf undersides? I infer that'd have an opposite effect on ocean primary production, but I can't find any studies about this.   I would think that  light hitting at a shallow angle would reflect more and refract less, decreasing the intensity, making for a more shallow path and possibly the raising depth of the euphotic zone?   The ocean is important in carbon drawdown; and acidification, deoxygenation,  stratification, and other stressors take a toll on productivity.   Less solar energy can't be helpful.   This is not my area of expertise, I'm a chemist, but it seems like no one is worried about this...  should I not be either?    Thanks

donn j viviani

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