The Ethics of Climate Engineering. Reports of the COMEST series

Climate engineering relates to a broad set of methods and technologies that aim to deliberately alter the climate system to alleviate the impacts of climate change. While these technologies have the potential to stabilise and reduce global temperatures, their emergence raises fundamental ethical questions, with deep concerns regarding the lack of research on their environmental impact, as well as the current lack of governance which could lead to potential geopolitical tensions, human rights implications, and unequal distribution of harm and benefits amongst societies. The report of the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology of UNESCO proposes a comprehensive ethical perspective on climate engineering. Based on reflection about what the research, development and deployment of such new technologies could imply for both the present and future generations, the Commission raises awareness about the potential risks and benefits of these technologies and lists recommendations which can offer suggestions about normative ethics in this field. UNESCO Catno: 0000396528 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396528