Side Event

Geoengineering - The Implications for Biodiversity and Climate Change

Organizer
ETC Group

Date and Time
2 July 2007 13:15 - 14:45

Meeting
Twelfth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 12)

In recent months, it has become increasingly acceptable to talk about geo-engineering as a legitimate response to climate change. Geo-engineering refers to the intentional, large-scale manipulation of the environment by humans to bring about environmental change, particularly to counteract the undesired side-effects of other human activities. In August 2006 a Nobel-prize winning scientist at the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Paul Crutzen, called for active research into the use of “sub-micrometer”-sized sulfate-based aerosols to reflect sunlight in the stratosphere in order to cool the earth. In April 2007 Richard Branson and Al Gore refueled interest in geo-engineering with the announcement of a $25 million global science and technology prize to encourage a viable technology to remove greenhouse gases. At least 9 national governments and the EU have supported experiments to spread iron particles on the ocean surface to nurture plankton and sequester carbon dioxide. One commercial carbon trading company will begin iron fertilization in the ocean near Galapagos in May 2007. This side-event will examine current geo-engineering proposals and their implications for biodiversity, particularly in the global South.