Arctic Climate Interventions

The melting of the Arctic poses enormous risks both to the Arctic itself and to the global climate system. Conventional climate change policies operate too slowly to save the Arctic, so unconventional approaches need to be considered, including technologies to refreeze Arctic ice and slow the meltin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bodansky, Daniel, Hunt, Hugh
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Brill 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/310255
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.57344
Description
Summary:The melting of the Arctic poses enormous risks both to the Arctic itself and to the global climate system. Conventional climate change policies operate too slowly to save the Arctic, so unconventional approaches need to be considered, including technologies to refreeze Arctic ice and slow the melting of glaciers. Even if one believes that global climate interventions, such as injecting aerosols into the stratosphere to scatter sunlight, pose unacceptable risks and should be disqualified from consideration, Arctic interventions differ in important respects. They are closer in kind to conventional mitigation and adaptation and should be evaluated in similar terms. It is unclear whether they are feasible and would be effective in saving the Arctic. But given the importance of the Arctic, they should be investigated fully.