Scientists say geoengineering could emerge as a progressive method for cooling the Earth or help reducing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, they say the technique is in very early stages of development and remain untested on a global scale.
According to the researchers, the deliberate interference of man in the natural phenomenon of earth’s cooling may pose greater risk to the atmosphere, but if the concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere reach a critical stage, geoengineering might become the only way to take control of our climate.
Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s environment to counteract climate change.
Steve Rayner of the Oxford Geoengineering Programme, UK, says that there is no easy answer, but it would be “irresponsible for us not to explore the potential to understand the technologies as best we can”.
“Throughout human history the technologies of one generation created problems for the next. We have to find some way to deal with that; it’s part of the evolution of human society,” he adds.