Geoengineering :Playing the sorcerer’s apprentice? : geopolitical risks of a race to control the climate

Since the 1960s, when the concept was used for the first time, the notion of geoengineering has evolved considerably, and now covers a very wide spectrum of methods and technologies. But all aim at modifying the Earth’s climate. For the purposes of this paper, geoengineering is defined as “deliberate large-scale interventions to alter the Earth’s natural systems with the aim to counteract some of the negative effects of climate change”. Although there is a tendency to exclude consideration of the military uses of geoengineering, this definition also covers the geopolitical dimension and its security implications. These aspects cannot be ignored given the risk of unintended spill-over effects of geoengineering (and possible responses) or that they might be used with the express aim of gaining advantage over an adversary or accentuating regional tensions.