Geoengineering: A Climate Conundrum?

When
February 4, 2020 11:00 am — 12:30 pm
Where
Webinar Only

An ELI Public Seminar

Recent international assessments suggest limiting a global average temperature increase below 2˚C is unlikely without deploying large-scale technologies that reduce solar insolation or remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. However, real-world research remains deeply controversial, especially given the lack of international oversight of these relatively low-cost, transboundary technologies.

Which geoengineering technologies seem most promising and which seem inauspicious? What are the legal frameworks, if any, governing the research and implementation of geoengineering? Should the policymakers addressing climate change today rely upon the technologies of tomorrow?

Panelists delved into these questions and explored the risks and opportunities in geoengineering mechanisms including solar radiation management (SRM) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

Panelists:
Wil Burns, Co-Director, Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy, American University, Moderator
Robert A. James, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Shuchi Talati, Geoengineering Research, Governance, and Public Engagement Fellow, Union of Concerned Scientists

Materials:
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