TIME: 06:00 pm - 07:30 pm
David Keith
Gordon McKay
Professor of Applied Physics, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences; Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard
University
Solar geoengineering research
aims to reduce the impacts of global climate change. One possibility is to put
aerosols into the stratosphere to alter Earth’s energy budget. This emerging
technology entails risks and uncertainties, along with serious challenges to
global governance. The greatest threat, perhaps, is that it will be used as a
technical fix and encourage people to avoid the emissions cuts that are
fundamental to curbing long-term climate risks. David Keith describes the
simple physics underlying the climate’s response to stratospheric aerosols, the
risks and the trade-offs among solar geoengineering, carbon removal and
emissions reductions.