Stephen M. Gardiner & Catriona McKinnon 2024
In: Mosquera, J. & O. Torpman (ed.), Studies on Climate Ethics and Future Generations vol. 6. Working Paper Series 2024:10–17
‘Geoengineering' has come to refer to massive technological interventions into fundamental earth systems on a planetary scale, often with the aim of counteracting human-induced climate change. Despite a burgeoning literature, some ethical issues surrounding geoengineering remain under-analyzed, barely identified, or in effect ignored. We are interested in one such issue, the threat of generationally parochial geoengineering (GPG): geoengineering that is dominated by the narrow, generation-relative concerns of a given generation engaging in the intervention, without due consideration for wider concerns, including especially the interests of later generations. In this paper, we develop the basic idea and identify some early warning signs in the current discourse, focusing on stratospheric sulfate injection, a form of solar radiation management. Our emphasis is on motivating the claim that generationally parochial geoengineering is a threat that should taken seriously at all levels of work on geoengineering, including research, development, and deployment.
