Geo-engineering and climate control

The idea of engineering the atmosphere to stave off global warming is increasingly gaining popularity, butit raises several issues

- NITIN DESAI

A recent sci-fi novel Ministry of the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson, describes what will happen in the future as countries fail to agree and implement a carbon mitigation programme that limits the global temperature increase to a manageable level. The novel begins with a massive heat wave in Uttar Pradesh that kills millions. The Government of India then responds by unilaterally launching a move to spray sulphur dioxide on clouds in the Indian Ocean, which would reduce solar radiation and bring the temperature down. The move works and for two-three years the temperature comes down. The novel goes on to elaborate more such measures to cope with the consequences of catastrophic climate change.

This piece of science fiction looks increasingly like a probable projection, given the fact that recent meetings of the Climate Convention, including the one in Egypt, failed to improve the inadequate mitigation agenda that has come out of the Paris Agreement.

The Egypt meeting did provide a breakthrough on the socalled loss and damage compensation, which, with the failure to secure an adequate agreement on mitigation, is of some importance, though the notion of liability has been diluted.

What is missing now is the required pressure for strengthening the mitigation commitments. Thus, according to the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, the work programme for scaling up mitigation has to be nonprescriptive, non-punitive, facilitative, respectful of national sovereignty and national circumstances, take into account the nature of nationally-determined contributions and not impose new targets or goals”. It would be difficult to draft a deeper dilution of pressure for action than this.