Posted 3 days ago by James BushnellUncategorized
Denying reality is a real problem for climate policy.
Public discourse about climate change in this country, and even around the world, has tended to emphasize the polar (no pun intended) extremes: an imminent (or ongoing) “climate crisis” on one side and “hoax” on the other.When these views are translated into policy, it takes the form, on one side, of “net zero now” and on the other side of “drill baby drill”.
Lost somewhere in the middle, or maybe off to the side, of these standard framings of the debate over climate policy is the role of geoengineering.The idea has been around in serious form for at least two decades, but the climate policy community, with some notable exceptions, has been reluctant to examine it.Even attempts to perform small scale trial research have met significant opposition.
Most of the criticism of geoengineering that I’ve read has come from the left. The general mantra is that, even if it worked, geoengineering would constitute a distraction from, or an excuse to slow walk, the urgent need to eliminate fossil fuel emissions and usher in all sorts of desirable social change. On my campus, even discussions of carbon capture have been protested as capitulation on goals of zero fossil fuels.I was under the impression that this general reluctance to even discuss solar radiation management and other forms of geoengineering was shared by the Biden administration.
But we are in the brave new world of U.S. energy dominance now, so I assumed that fans of fossil fuels would also embrace ways to mitigate the damage it causes. Imagine my surprise when Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republican representatives blew the lid off the story.Far from avoiding geoengineering in order to keep policy focused on the zero-carbon prize, the Biden deep state had apparently been managing the weather for years. Right-leaning legislators are moving to ban research on geoengineering based upon some interesting theories.
I’m left wondering if these Republican legislators lost their memo from the cabal of fossil fuel companies that was supposed to really run the country.If, as some on the climate left seem to believe, geoengineering is just an excuse to keep burning fossil fuels, shouldn’t the industry and its greatest supporters be lining up to support it? Apparently not.
Personally, I found intriguing the argument that mankind has been involved in geoengineering since at least the dawn of the industrial age.Most recently, the decline of SO2 in the atmosphere, in order to address real environmental problems, has coincidentally also reduced reflectivity in the atmosphere.In other words, there are levels of solar reflectivity that are “in sample” to recent experience and, to my admittedly untrained eye, do not seem outrageous to attempt to recreate.
These points are combined with the fact that the trend toward net zero emissions, while remarkable, just isn’t happening fast enough to reach most mainstream goals for GHG concentration.The current political environment, along with higher energy prices has created serious political headwinds for more aggressive climate policy even in places that have been at the forefront of reducing emissions.If one truly believes that we are on the precipice of a climate crisis, it’s time to explore a backup plan to the rapidly fading hope of global net-zero carbon by 2050.
These last few points have been pretty clear for quite some time now, even before last November’s election.Yet those on the center left and center right of climate policy have only slowly started to discuss, let alone significantly invest in, geoengineering.
Sure, if solar radiation management actually did help slow global temperature rise, this may give countries more of an excuse to delay decarbonization. But do countries, especially the U.S., really need more of an excuse these days? If I hadn’t started on a statin, maybe I would do better at eating healthy, or maybe I would just have a heart attack that much sooner.
In U.S. politics there has been a lot of talk about the political spectrum really being a political horseshoe, with groups on the far right and the far left sharing a surprising amount of common ground. Geoengineering seems to be one of these issues that is drawing groups like this together. Perhaps this newly forming, very odd, coalition will spur counter-movement on the center left and center right.Does Gavin Newsom really want to side with MTG on any aspect of climate policy?We will see.
—
Follow us onBlueskyandLinkedIn, and subscribeto ouremail listto keep up with future content and announcements.
Suggested citation: Bushnell, James.“Has the Political Horseshoe Come for Geoengineering?”Energy Institute Blog,UC Berkeley, April 21, 2025, https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/04/21/the-political-horseshoe-comes-for-geoengineering/
—
By default comments are displayed as anonymous, but if you are comfortable doing so, we encourage you to sign your comments.
Categories
Uncategorized
Tags
climate change, featured
