Pandemic politics—lessons for solar geoengineering

Buck, Holly Jean; Geden, Oliver; Sugiyama, Masahiro; Corry, Olaf

doi:10.1038/s43247-020-00018-1

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(12 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The comparative study concludes that a less paternalistic, more inclusive dialogue between science and citizens is crucial for informed consent and democratic governance. Three moves are essential: Make science more attentive to citizens' real concerns, make citizens smarter about how science works in governance, and make spaces for deliberating different interpretations of science without polarizing conflicts [91].…”

Section: The Covid-19 Crisis Has Demonstrated How Scientists May Engage Successfully With Decision-makersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing Popular Hypotheses from a Social Science Perspective

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is an increasingly vocal debate on potential long-term changes in environmental sustainability spurred by the global COVID-19 pandemic. This article scrutinizes the social science basis of selected popular hypotheses regarding the nexus between the COVID-19 pandemic and the societal transitions towards environmental sustainability. It presents results that were derived through an interdisciplinary dialogue among social scientists. First, it is confirmed that the COVID-19 crisis has likely created a potential window of opportunity for societal change. Yet, to ensure that societal change is enduring and actually supporting the transition towards environmental sustainability, a clear and well-targeted political framework guiding private investments and behavior is required. Second, it is emphasized that there are important structural differences between the COVID-19 crisis and environmental crises, like time scales. Consequently, many strategies used to address the COVID-19 crisis are hardly suitable for long-term transitions towards environmental sustainability. Third, it is argued that transitions towards environmental sustainability—building both on reducing environmental degradation and building socio-techno-ecological resilience—may create co-benefits in terms of preventing and coping with potential future pandemics. However, research still needs to explore how big these synergies are (and whether trade-offs are also possible), and what type of governance framework they require to materialize.

show abstract

Section: The Covid-19 Crisis Has Demonstrated How Scientists May Engage Successfully With Decision-makersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing Popular Hypotheses from a Social Science Perspective

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While carbon removal directly addresses the root cause of the problem -excess atmospheric carbon dioxide -solar geoengineering only does so indirectly (Keith et al, 2017). Using solar geoengineering to 'buy time', meanwhile, only works in the broader context of climate policy (Buck et al, 2020). Lastly, one cannot discuss the possibility of either form of geoengineering without conjuring up concerns about messing with nature, and the ethically objectionable compromise of substituting a technofix for the seemingly more difficult work of moral and broader institutional reform (Gardiner, 2006;Hulme, 2014;Kolbert, 2021;Preston, 2011).…”

Section: (Solar) Geoengineering and Moral Hazardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Moral Hazards

Wagner

Zizzamia

2021

Ethics, Policy & Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Moral hazards are ubiquitous. Green ones typically involve technological fixes: Environmentalists often see 'technofixes' as morally fraught because they absolve actors from taking more difficult steps toward systemic solutions. Carbon removal and especially solar geoengineering are only the latest example of such technologies. We here explore green moral hazards throughout American history. We argue that dismissing (solar) geoengineering on moral hazard grounds is often unproductive. Instead, especially those vehemently opposed to the technology should use it as an opportunity to expand the attention paid to the underlying environmental problem in the first place, actively invoking its opposite: 'inverse moral hazards'.

show abstract

“…No such international governance body exists for C‐19. Attempts at international coordination and cooperation are minimal (Brown & Susskind, 2020 ; Buck et al, 2020 ), although some collaboration is evident in vaccine development and delivery (Kupferschmidt, 2020 ).…”

Section: International Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most vulnerable in the C‐19 pandemic are the elderly and the socio‐economically disadvantaged groups, often in poor health (Horton, 2020 ). The principle of (tacit) solidarity arguably underpinned blanket mobility restrictions, as the young had not to fear so much from the disease but were still included in the restrictions (Buck et al, 2020 ). Solidarity raises the question of fairness: if the burden from government controls falls disproportionally on different groups, interest mediation and cross subsidies are required.…”

Section: The Role Of Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

COVID and Climate: Similarities and differences

Grundmann

2021

WIREs Climate Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The cases of COVID-19 and climate change highlight the central role of scientific research which supposedly guides political decision-making. Models and scenarios assume a central role. However, science cannot tell us what to do. While it provides important facts and metrics, uncertainties remain and decisions are based on considerations pertaining to fundamental values. Apart from these similarities, my aim is to emphasize some significant differences.They relate to policy goals, international cooperation, data and metrics, values, and the time horizons involved.

show abstract

Pandemic politics—lessons for solar geoengineering

Abstract: Responses to the COVID-19 emergency have exposed break-points at the interface of science, media, and policy. We summarize five lessons that should be heeded if climate change ever enters a state of emergency perceived to warrant stratospheric aerosol injection.

Cited by 13 publications

References 11 publications

Environmental Sustainability Post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing Popular Hypotheses from a Social Science Perspective

Environmental Sustainability Post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing Popular Hypotheses from a Social Science Perspective

Green Moral Hazards

COVID and Climate: Similarities and differences

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About