Overview

Geoengineering increasingly appears to be the key to future climate policies. Societies and governments the world over have so far failed to sufficiently curb greenhouse gas emissions necessary for averting dramatic temperature increases and climate change. This book introduces readers to the concepts and methods of climate engineering by presenting the technologies and risks, as well as the political and ethical issues. This timely text tackles topics such as the arguments for and against altering the climate on purpose, the uncertainties of geoengineering technologies, the international coordination in engineering projects, and the duties towards the future generations. Landes engages with global cases, including reforestation efforts, melting ice in the Artic regions, Siberia and Alaska, forest fires in Brazil, California, Australia, and Europe, and coral reef destruction in our oceans. Distinctive features of the book include: Situating climate engineering within the more general context of the Anthropocene Setting up an evaluative framework used for assessing climate engineering methods from three angles: feasibility, permissibility, and, preferability A taxonomy of the different methods of climate engineering: carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management A structured and critical review of the different justifications for and oppositions to climate engineering R&D as well as deployment Engineering and Governing the Climate: Ethical and Political Issues is an essential read for all those working in environmental studies, climate policy, and building a sustainable future.

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9781538145616

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Reviews

Humanity's failure to take the steps necessary to arrest catastrophic anthropogenic climate change has forced geoengineering on our attention. The technologies involved raise daunting moral and political issues which we must nonetheless address immediately. Xavier Landes's book does us an enormous service by walking us through these issues in a manner that is both scientifically informed and philosophically sensitive. This is precisely the book that needed to be written given our present predicament, and we are all in Xavier Landes's debt for having written it. --Daniel Weinstock, Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy, McGill University I learned a great deal from reading this groundbreaking book. Geoengineering has been something of a taboo subject among environmentalists for many years, based on the desire to avoid distracting attention away from carbon abatement, which remains the first-best response to the problem of climate change. Considering the current warming trajectory, however, it seems inevitable that we will at some point need to take second-best options more seriously. Landes provides an invaluable guide to this emerging set of issues, describing the technological options and the normative concerns they raise with exemplary clarity. --Joseph Heath, University of Toronto

Humanity's failure to take the steps necessary to arrest catastrophic anthropogenic climate change has forced bioengineering on our attention. The technologies involved raise daunting moral and political issues which we must nonetheless address immediately. Xavier Landes's book does us an enormous service by walking us through these issues in a manner that is both scientifically informed and philosophically sensitive. This is precisely the book that needed to be written given our present predicament, and we are all in Xavier Landes's debt for having written it. --Daniel Weinstock, Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy, McGill University I learned a great deal from reading this groundbreaking book. Geoengineering has been something of a taboo subject among environmentalists for many years, based on the desire to avoid distracting attention away from carbon abatement, which remains the first-best response to the problem of climate change. Considering the current warming trajectory, however, it seems inevitable that we will at some point need to take second-best options more seriously. Landes provides an invaluable guide to this emerging set of issues, describing the technological options and the normative concerns they raise with exemplary clarity. --Joseph Heath, University of Toronto

Author Information

Xavier Landes is an associate professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. In addition, he has held positions at Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, and Copenhagen University. Landes's areas of expertise are political and moral philosophy. He has published on various topics such as multiculturalism, the welfare state, public insurance, and happiness. Climate change and climate alteration constitute his current focuses of research and teaching.

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