Planning Into the Future and a Short Goodbye

A word web highlighting the most used words in my blog (Source: http://www.wordclouds.com/)

Over the past few months my knowledge about geoengineering has developed beyond a simple fascination of China's cloud seeding or Abu Dhabi generating rainfalls. I have explored both CDR and SRM schemes of management and have been pleasantly surprised by the potential of both. Interestingly, the word web above highlights my most used words in the blog, brining air to a few in particular:

'Management', 'governance', 'public' and 'politics'.

Each of these, as well as further research, highlights the issues geoengineering now faces if it is to be implemented on a global scale.

However, optimism surrounding the topic is seen in:

 'potential', 'future' 'mitigation' and 'time'.

From my posts I see geoengineering as a 'potential' 'future' management strategy used to 'mitigate' rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels to provide 'time' for countries to achieve emissions targets. This optimism has led me to produce a future management strategy to incorporate geoengineering into climate change strategy:

The Plan of Action:

2020:
- Establish a global framework for geoengineering management and regulation, incorporating leading technologies in the field and government officials from all countries.
- Encourage the framework to work closely with emission reduction programmes to ensure targets are continually made and met despite geoengineering research.
- Place bans on all forms of 'rogue geoengineering'.
- Begin further laboratory research into aerosol spraying whilst banning any field trials across the globe.
- Begin funding research into carbon air capture technologies and other CDR methods and provide financial incentives for commercialised technologies, funded through the global framework.

2025:
- After 5 years of research and lab trials on aerosol spraying, the method can be assessed to be viable for field testing. If so, very fine tuned, controlled trials of spraying over small desert regions can begin. Records should be taken meticulously to highlight daily temperature differences and any potential social, economic and environmental side effects noted. So long as trials are kept small, the mitigation of side effects should be achievable. Downstream implications and management of aerosol spraying should also be understood during this period.
- Continued research into cost effective CDR global scale methods.

2050:
- After small scale trials, aerosol spraying can be assessed. If efficiency and manageability of small trials has been successful then confidence can be placed in region wide aerosol spraying. If the fine tuned experiments were difficult to control and outcomes variable then no further research should be conducted into this method.
- Improved technology should allow carbon air capture to begin becoming a commercially viable option to reducing emissions. If so, schemes should be financed and small scale projects placed globally and monitored to identify how efficient they are.

The Future:
- Aerosol spraying and CDR should both be continually assessed and redesigned to be as cost effective, efficient and risk free as possible.
- Both can be used as a time saving policy to allow emission reduction targets to be met by countries and new targets set. By no means should these provide justification for business as usual scenarios.
- If successful there can be an expected decrease in global carbon dioxide levels and a temporary temperature decline to provide a time period for emissions reductions.

Bye for now!

It was extremely enjoyable to blog about this topic over the past few months and I believe it has allowed me to form a strong opinion on the subject. Who knows what the future may hold, only time will tell!