Why Geoengineering is Inevitable

Climate change is coming, likely in greater magnitudes than most people realize.  Emissions reductions remain essential and adaptation will become urgent, but those steps alone will prove insufficient to meet the IPCC’s climate goals.  Geoengineering refers broadly to two categories of climate interventions – those intended to remove and sequester greenhouse gases from the climate system, and those intended to change the earth’s radiative balance by deflecting a small fraction of the incoming sunlight.  We have already crossed a threshold beyond which the former will be required to secure a satisfactory climate future, and within the lifetime of most of the world’s current population, we will also experience impacts that are likely to trigger widespread demands -- particularly in the global south -- for the latter type of intervention.  Geoengineering remains largely unknown to the general public and highly controversial within climate circles, but it is also time to recognize that there is no acceptable climate future without it.The session will commence with a presentation, followed by comments and discussion from the floor.