Should we give the green light to geoengineers?

[Nipuna]

YOU might think that giving people free rein to experiment with technologies that could cool the planet is a recipe for chaos. But as things stand, pretty much anyone could carry out field tests at will. Most geoengineering exists in a legal void (see "Geoengineers are free to legally hack the climate").

Should we let tests go ahead? Our copious emissions of carbon dioxide, among other things, mean we are already carrying out huge, unplanned experiments with the climate. Letting a few more proceed, particularly ones intended to improve matters, might be more pragmatic than waiting the decades it might well take to agree international treaties that set out what is acceptable.

But such tests are likely to have unintended consequences, maybe including damage to health or ecosystems across international boundaries. They could even be weaponised – by creating acid rain, say, or killing fish stocks.

So some degree of oversight is desirable. It would be good to notify the neighbours when tests are about to begin. And some monitoring, perhaps through the UN or its Framework Convention on Climate Change, would be well advised. Vigilance, after all, is the price of freedom.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Climate fixes need testing"