A Polarised Debate: Is There a Middle Ground on Geoengineering?

A Polarised Debate: Is There a Middle Ground on Geoengineering?

Join us for a lunchtime event hosted by the Centre for Climate Repair and the Scott Polar Research Institute. Professor Marc Macias Fauria (Physical Geography) and Albert Van Wijngaarden (PhD candidate and researcher in polar geoengineering governance) will explore whether a constructive middle ground can be found within the often-divisive debate around climate interventions. The discussion will bring together perspectives on polarisation, the case for advancing research, and how inclusive dialogue might be fostered.

Aromi pizza will be provided from 12:45

Date: 6th May, 1:00 - 1:55

Location: Small Lecture Theatre, Geography Building

Also livestreamed on: https://youtube.com/live/uw8y0N4FLbw?feature=share (no registration needed for livestream)

2024 was the first year to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold, and global emissions continue to rise. Against this backdrop, interest in climate interventions has grown as potential tools to help reduce temperatures. Techniques such as Arctic Ice Rethickening and Marine Cloud Brightening aim to preserve Arctic ice and reflect solar radiation away from the Earth.

With £56.8 million in UK government funding now supporting research into approaches such as these, debate around the benefits and risks of geoengineering is intensifying—and often becoming polarised. Views range from calls to prohibit research altogether to arguments for the swift deployment of these technologies. Others suggest that this ‘no middle ground’ framing leaves a gap in responsible governance and transparent, science-based decision-making.

Is polarisation on geoengineering inevitable? Or can a middle ground be found, and what might it look like? Join us on 6th May to explore these questions.

Open to all

Marc Macias-Fauria, Professor of Physical Geography at the Scott Polar Research Institute, studies how physical and biological parts of the Earth system interact, a field known as biogeosciences. His work focuses on cold regions such as the Arctic and alpine environments. He examines how vegetation, large herbivores, and climate influence each other, as well as how sea ice affects Arctic biota. He also leads the Biogeosciences research group and has written on geoengineering in polar regions.

Albert Van Wijngaarden is a PhD candidate at the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the social and ethical questions surrounding efforts to study potential artificial interventions in elements of the climate system in polar regions. He examines who is included in these projects and who is excluded, what kinds of questions are being asked, and how uncertainties and risks are addressed. He also explores how these ideas relate to one another and to more conventional approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation, and has written on geoengineering in The Conversation.