Security Politics, Risk and Climate Geoengineering

[Andrew Lockley]

https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/16248/security-politics-risk-and-climate-geoengineering

Security Politics, Risk and Climate Geoengineering

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About this Research Topic

In security terms, climate change is widely studied and debated and often understood as a threat or risk multiplier, including in emerging accounts of planetary, ecological or human security. However, security imaginaries of climate geoengineering are undeveloped and only now beginning to emerge. While climate geoengineering might diffuse threats related to climate change and help ameliorate risks associated with global temperature rise, on the other hand, the physical side effects of geoengineering techniques, uncertainties surrounding their viability, and the political context in which deployment might take place might all generate novel risks, injustices and security dilemmas.

In the contemporary world, military intervention is typically justified with reference to international legal principles, future risks or human rights concerns, yet a close nexus remains between military interests, socio-technical regimes and natural resources. So far, the historical involvement of military actors in weather modification (now restricted by the ENMOD convention) has not been openly replicated in interests in climate geoengineering techniques (such as stratospheric aerosol injection or marine cloud brightening). However, it is reasonable 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. Security concerns may also be raised by aspects of planetary scale ‘carbon geoengineering’ (or Negative Emissions Techniques), as a result of impacts on global commons, such as oceans, or by demands for land or other resources.

Geoengineering scholarship has barely scratched the surface of potential security concerns, with most extant literature focusing on ‘governance’ of risks rather than ‘security’. Scholars in international law and human rights have engaged deeply with climate change and climate justice, but in the context of climate geoengineering the relationship between these aspects and security politics has yet to be substantially explored. Simultaneously, novel understandings of planetary, ecological and human security raise questions about the role of geoengineering in climate security in a wider sense, including how risk management increasingly intersects with security politics.

This Research Topic aims to stimulate and convene scholarship in this area. Contributions might address (but need not be limited to) questions such as:

- How is climate geoengineering understood in security terms? Which geo-political and security interests (military, intelligence etc.) might be served by or are already investigating climate geoengineering and why?

- What security or risk-based 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?

- What might alternative security imaginaries, drawing on ideas of human security, environmental security or planetary security, contribute in consideration of geoengineering as a risk management tool? How might climate geoengineering interventions be justified in security terms directly, through the securitization of climate impacts, or via the growth of risk-management logics in security practices?

- What is (or may be) the role of the military in delivering climate geoengineering proposals or techniques? What forms, characteristics and deployments of climate geoengineering technologies might be favoured by military and security interests? What can we learn for climate geoengineering from experiences with other large-scale, earth-altering technologies of military interest (such as weather modification or nuclear weapons)?

- What role might climate policy / climate geoengineering play in critical regional or global geopolitics (e.g. the Arctic, or the Indian subcontinent, or in the US-China axis)? What does post-coloniality and the legacy of empires mean for security politics, justice and climate geoengineering?

- What governance mechanisms and institutions (national, international, multilateral) are implied by security and risk imaginaries of climate geoengineering?

- What is the role of non-state actors in producing security imaginaries of climate geoengineering? What roles do corporate interests, NGOs, think-tanks or climate scientists and modellers play in modulating risks and (in)securities related to climate?

We would also welcome national or regional case studies of climate security arguments and their (possible) relevance for climate engineering.

Types of manuscripts:

• Original research articles reporting on primary and unpublished studies about security and geoengineering;

• Review articles covering aspects of geoengineering and security that have seen significant development in recent years, with comprehensive depth and a balanced perspective;

• Policy and practice reviews of current topics in climate security related to geoengineering techniques and their implications;

• Perspective articles presenting a viewpoint on a specific aspect of geoengineering and security;

• Policy briefs that provide practical and evidence-based guidance for proposals and measures related to security and geoengineering.

Keywords: Geoengineering, Security, International Relations, Climate securitization

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review. 

[Andrew Lockley]

https://politicalscience.ku.dk/research/projects/ispace/online-seminar-series/

Københavns Universitet

Department of Political Science

Online seminar series: Security Politics, Risk and Climate Geoengineering

17-18 and 24-25 February 2021 – Call for abstracts / Register your interest

The ISPACE project (International Security Politics and Climate Engineering) invites scholars to participate in an online virtual seminar series on security politics, geopolitical risk and climate geoengineering. The seminars will take place on 17, 18, 24 and 25 February 2021.

The seminar series is organised in conjunction with a call for papers  in Frontiers (Frontiers In Climate and Frontiers In Political Science), co-edited by ISPACE researchers Olaf Corry (University of Leeds and University of Copenhagen) and Duncan McLaren (Lancaster University), in collaboration with Malin Mobjörk (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), Ina Möller (Wageningen University and Research) and Kevin Surprise (Mount Holyoke College).

About the topic

While climate change is often studied and debated as a security issue, e.g. understood as a ‘threat multiplier’, security imaginaries of climate geoengineering are underdeveloped. With most geoegineering literature focusing on ‘governance’ rather than ‘security’ the potential intersections between climate engineering and security-related dynamics, actors and risks have received relativey little attention. These virtual seminars, in conjunction with the call for papers for the Frontiers Research Topic, aim to stimulate and convene scholarship broadening this area, understanding security in terms of traditional national as well as global, human and ecological security. We welcome proposals for paper presentations in the seminar series – please send your abstract to Nikolaj Kornbech, mail: nikolaj....@ifs.ku.dk at latest by 19 January 2021.

To read more about the research topic including suggestions for contributions, please go to the Frontiers website  (please note: if you also wish your proposal to be considered for Frontiers publication please also submit your abstract via the Frontiers website by 19 January 2021).

About the seminars

The seminars will be structured around presentations and discussions of contributors’ draft papers, along with thematic sessions that aim to open up discussions on the broader themes of security politics and climate geoengineering, and to collaboratively generate new ideas for research in this area.

The seminar series will consist of four three-hour sessions spread over the course of two weeks. The time of day of the sessions will vary, in consideration of the different time zones of participating scholars (see schedule below). We strongly encourage potential participants to plan to attend all four sessions if possible, so as to maximise the opportunities for effective interchange and collaboration.

If you wish to discuss your idea for paper presentation, or have any general questions regarding the content and purpose of the seminars, please contact the scientific conveners Olaf Corry, mail: o...@ifs.ku.dk and Duncan McLaren, mail: d.mc...@lancaster.ac.uk).

To express your interest and reserve your place, or for any practical questions about the seminar series, please contact Nikolaj Kornbech, mail: nikolaj....@ifs.ku.dk.

Schedule

Wednesday 17 February 2021, 15:00-18:00 CET

Thursday 18 February 2021, 10:00-13:00 CET

Wednesday 24 February 2021, 18:00-21:00 CET

Thursday 25 February 2021, 15:00-18:00 CET

The detailed schedule will be sent out to registered participants when finalised.

To read more about the ISPACE project, see our project description.