1. Introduction
This article examines the role of international law in the emerging governance landscape of geoengineering. Geo-engineering (GE) is a generic term embracing activities aimed at deliberate large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s environment to alter the climate system and alleviate the impacts of climate change.(1) Lerner, K. L. (2021). Geoengineering. In K.H. Nemeh & J.L. Longe (Eds.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Science (pp. 1973-1975). Gale Academic. Geoengineering activities are commonly divided into two broad categories: solar geoengineering, or Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report distinguishes clearly between CDR and SRM, due to their very different geophysical characteristics.(2) IPCC. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change p.168 doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.
Shipping will be important for carrying out activities necessary for both categories of GE. In case of CDR, ships will transport CO2 to storage locations in the seabed. SRM techniques may include ships pumping seawater mist into clouds, making them thicker and more reflective.
Contemporary ideas about cooling the Earth include injecting aerosole particles into atmosphere to reflect back sunrays, using seawater sprays to make clouds brighter or constructing giant underwater ‘curtains’ around ice sheets of Antarctica to protect the wider world from rising sea levels. This sounds like science fiction but is not really new: weather modification programs already are known to be implemented for various purposes by technologically developed States, raising environmental and geopolitical concerns of neighbouring countries. For example, in the early 1970s, the USA and Soviet Union reportedly cooperated on world weather engineering in experiments in the Bering Sea and other secret projects.(3) Sacco, N., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Galmarini, S. and Michel, Q., Geo-engineering: A roadmap towards international guidelines, EUR 27733, European Commission, 2022, p. 4, ISBN 978-92-79-54950-2, doi:10.2788/29362, JRC99777. GE techniques to mitigate or reverse consequences of climate change are currently being considered and small-scale tested by scientists, States and commercial actors.
At the same time, key issues of international law on GE remain debatable and unresolved. It is argued by many States and scientific communities that internationally harmonized standards for GE are indispensable for the effective governance of these activities. A prospective GE regime needs to be comprehensive, multilateral, and backed-up by appropriate institutional framework(s). It also needs to incorporate non-state perspectives and promote coherence between applicable international law rules.
This article critically examines the role of international law in the emerging governance landscape of GE. It begins with briefly presenting the concept and goals of GE (Section 2) and outlining the existing international law and governance frameworks for GE with focus on sectoral approaches by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (Section 3). Then it explores the effectiveness of international legal approaches to governance of GE. While recognizing that such governance must be based on interdisciplinary approaches and mechanisms, this author argues that international law plays an indispensable role in the effective and equitable governance and regulation of GE (Section 4). Section 5 dwells on those international legal aspects of the future GE governance which, in this author’s view, require further attention from the research community. Conclusions are included in Section 6.