Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the End of Nature

Abstract

Solar geoengineering (SGE) is a controversial proposed technology which aims to address global warming by the ongoing injection of sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere, thereby reducing incoming sunlight and cooling the Earth. Once ‘taboo’, SGE has re-emerged since the mid-2000s as a proposal from a section of the climate science community. It has not yet been ‘normalised’ as an acceptable or accepted addition to the existing cornerstone climate policies of mitigation and adaptation. I analyse SGE in an attempt to understand what travels with this emerging technology. I adopt an analysis rooted in traditions of critical thought, and focus on analysing the major institutional assessments..