IC23: Why does geoengineering carry global catastrophic risks?

Show notes

This time it's a full wizard episode. Geoengineering! What is it? What's the latest? And is it a viable alternative to climate mitigation or just science fiction to keep researchers busy? Also, why did a think-tank see the need to define some global catastrophic risks for, in particular, solar radiation management?

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Sources

• Haskett, Jonathan D. (2023), Solar Geoengineering and Climate Change (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47551))
• Self et al., The Atmospheric Impact of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo Eruption (https://pubs.usgs.gov/pinatubo/self/))
• Wake Smith, The cost of stratospheric aerosol injection through 2100 (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020ERL….15k4004S/abstract))
• IEA (2025), Driving down the cost of carbon removal: Why innovation matters (https://www.iea.org/commentaries/driving-down-the-cost-of-carbon-removal-why-innovation-matters))
• EC (2024), https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/solar-radiation-modification-technologies-cannot-fully-address-climate-change-and-responsible-2024-12-09_en))
• Olivia Lazard, Mandi Bissett, James Dyke (2025), Geoengineering: Assessing Risks in the Era of Planetary Security (https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/07/geoengineering-assessing-risks-in-the-era-of-planetary-security?lang=en))