World-leading geoengineering researcher Professor David Keith (@DKeithClimate) will review the science and technology of solar geoengineering, arguing that systematic management of climate risks entails the capability to implement this controversial technology.
Abstract
The combination of inertia and uncertainty makes the coupled climate-economic system dangerously hard to control. If the climate’s sensitivity is at the high end of current estimates it may be too late to avert dramatic consequences for human societies and natural ecosystems even if we could quickly cut emissions to zero. Emissions cuts are necessary to manage climate risks, but they are not necessarily sufficient. Prudence demands that we study methods that offer the hope of limiting the environmental risks posed by the accumulation of fossil carbon in the atmosphere. The engineered alteration of the earth’s radiation budget—geoengineering—offers a fast means of managing climate risk, but it entails a host of new risks and it cannot fully compensate for the risk posed by carbon in the air. I will review the science and technology of solar geoengineering and argue that systematic management of climate risks entails the capability to implement these technologies. Finally, I will speculate about the elements of a geoengineering research program needed to build and regulate such capability.
Biography
David Keith has worked near the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy for twenty five years. He took first prize in Canada’s national physics prize exam, won MIT’s prize for excellence in experimental physics, and was one of TIME magazine’s Heroes of the Environment 2009. David is perhaps the most prominent researcher’s advocating for research on solar geoengineering, his book A case for Climate Engineering was covered by venues from the Economist and Der Spiegel to the Colbert Report. David’s work on technology and policy assessment has centered on the capture and storage of CO2, the economics and climatic impacts of large-scale wind power, the prospects for hydrogen fuel, and the use of expert judgments in policy assessments. David developed new methods for accurate measurement of global temperatures from space while building a high-accuracy infrared spectrometer for NASA’s ER-2 and developed new methods for reservoir engineering increase the safety of stored CO2. David divides his time between Harvard where he is jointly appointed in Engineering and the Kennedy School, and Calgary, where he helps lead Carbon Engineering a company developing technology to capture of CO2 from ambient air.