ENGINEERING THE CLIMATE
RESEARCH NEEDS AND STRATEGIES FOR INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION
Published OCTOBER 2010
Climate engineering, also known as geoengineering, can be described as the deliberate large- scale modification of the earth’s climate systems for the purposes of counteracting and mitigating climate change. As this subject becomes the focus of more serious consideration and scrutiny within the scientific and policy communities, it is important to acknowledge that climate engineering carries with it not only possible benefits, but also an enormous range of uncertainties, ethical and political concerns, and the potential for harmful environmental and economic side- effects.