In 2020, Futuribles examined the rise of geoengineering technologies, that is, the set of tools designed to control or manipulate the Earth’s climate and/or environment. In its Vigie 2020 Report, the association considered a scenario in which geoengineering technologies will have been widely deployed by 2050. In this interview, Sofia Kabbej, an associate researcher with the Climate, Energy and Security programme at IRIS (Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques) and scientific co-director of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence and Climate Observatory, answers Marie Ségur’s questions for Futuribles on the future of geoengineering.
Three years ago (when the Vigie 2020 Report was published), the subject of geoengineering was still relatively confidential and limited to a circle of insiders, hence the idea that rapid development of this technology would represent a “break” with the current situation. However, over the last few months we’ve seen a flurry of activity on this issue, and what is striking is that it is also being covered in the mainstream media. Can you confirm this?
S.K.: Yes, absolutely. Not only have the media taken up the subject, but also certain research initiatives have been made public, such as the SATAN (Stratospheric Aerosol Transport and Nucleation) project in the UK and SABRE (Stratospheric Aerosol processes, Budget and Radiative Effects) in the US. International institutions such as the UN have also recently expressed their views on the issue, as demonstrated by the publication of a report on the subject by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Clearly, the development, testing, and deployment of geoengineering technologies are gathering pace. We should remember, however, that climate geoengineering covers a broad field, describing a wide range of techniques and practices, which do not involve the same scale of intervention in the Earth system, nor have they all reached the same degree of maturity.
In this conversation, I will be talking specifically about solar geoengineering —
