Climate Engineering and the Law

de Michael B. Gerrard, Tracy Hester

"Climate change is increasingly recognized as a global threat, and is already contributing to record-breaking hurricanes and heat waves. To prevent the worst impacts, attention is now turning to climate engineering - the intentional large-scale modification of the environment to reduce the impact of climate change. The two principal methods involve removing some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (which could consume huge amounts of land and money, and take a long period of time), and reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface, perhaps by spraying aerosols into the upper atmosphere from airplanes (which could be done quickly but is risky and highly controversial). This is the first book to focus on the legal aspects of these technologies: what government approvals would be needed; how liability would be assessed and compensation provided if something goes wrong; and how a governance system could be structured and agreed internationally"-- "These facts and experiences emphasize that climate change is among the most fundamental and important challenges of our era, and certainly the greatest in the realm of environmental law and policy. Both of us also share the conviction that, based on past performance and likely future behavior, the world's nations and leaders have not taken action that is remotely enough to answer the peril. Until we collectively find a way to reduce, then stop, and then remove our emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the urgency of the challenge and the threat of losses will only grow. This situation demands that we explore all options and possible solutions"--