Economics of Geoengineering - Essay Example

Geo-Engineering Geoengineering is the domain where only technical adversities are not dominant; along with it lots of other socio-economic as well as political and ethical issues dominate the entire picture. According to Scott Barrett, it is very difficult to levy any fixed parameter for the entire geoengineering technology and many nations would definitely be affected by it. The technology, according to Scott, also will add to the acidification of the seawater resulting in the misbalance of the ecological system.

Under this circumstance, governance of the technology implemented in geoengineering becomes essential. According to Barett, the greatest danger is not the technology but the way of implementation and failure of acknowledging geoengineering cannot determine the emission reduction by the government. The more dangerous side, according to Barrett, is the possibility of the day when countries will stop working on the experiments on geoengineering. The greatest problem associated with technology is with governance over the technology.

Barett in 2007 said, “The challenge posed by geoengineering is not how to get countries to do it. It is to address the fundamental question of who should decide whether and how geoengineering should be attempted towards the problem of governance” (Barett, S. “The Incredible Economics of Geoengineering”). Alan Robock’s testimony on geoengineering, “20 Reasons: Why May Geoengineering Be a Bad Idea”, states that it may cause climatic change as it has caused famine in India, Japan, and Africa.

It causes ozone depletion, continued ocean acidification, and affects cirrus clouds. It also affects plants, agitates soil erosion and leads to more and more acid deposition, and brings a great impact on the environment but along with all these threats the greatest threat that geoengineering brings forward is the ethical issue that it confronts. The recent treaties on global warming by the United Nations put lots of interruptions in the methods of experimenting with geoengineering. However, apart from all these threats, it is essential and very important to strike the right balance between scientific progress and experimentation and ecological balance.

Geoengineering cannot be eradicated but a parameter to convert it more conducive towards the environment has to be set.