The Biodiversity Impacts of Geoengineering Techniques

The report examines the ecological and human rights risks associated with atmosphere-based, marine, and land-based geoengineering. It argues that these speculative interventions could trigger ecosystem collapse, exacerbate ocean acidification, and violate the rights of millions, particularly Indigenous Peoples and rural communities. The author advocates for the enforcement of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's moratorium on geoengineering and a shift toward proven climate solutions.

• Solar radiation modification (SRM) techniques, such as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB), could cause global ecological disruptions, including food insecurity due to negative impacts on plant species and temperature stress from uneven cooling in the tropics and warming at the poles.
• Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) specifically risks slowing the global water cycle, potentially decreasing mean precipitation by up to 2 percent, and weakening the ozone layer, which would increase harmful UV radiation exposure for species.
• Marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques pose diverse threats: Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) involves high mining costs and caustic materials that can burn marine species; ocean fertilization can create toxic algal blooms and oxygen depletion; and biomass sinking risks bottom-up acidification and physical harm to delicate deep-sea ecosystems.
• Land-based geoengineering would require massive land use and resource extraction; bioenergy with carbon capture storage (BECCS) and biochar would require biomass plantations on more than twice the land currently cultivated, leading to significant biodiversity loss and habitat destruction.
• Direct air capture (DAC) is highly energy-intensive and creates extreme water stress; capturing just 1 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions would require a volume of water equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of 144 countries.
• The deployment of geoengineering could violate the human rights of millions or billions of people, specifically impacting fisherfolk, rural communities, and Indigenous Peoples, potentially creating "sacrifice zones" that entrench the fossil economy.
• The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established a de facto moratorium on geoengineering deployment in 2010, which was reaffirmed at the CBD COP16 in October 2024.

APA

Carlson, A. M. (2025). The Biodiversity Impacts of Geoengineering Techniques. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/geoengineering-biodiversity-risks/

Chicago

Carlson, Alana M. The Biodiversity Impacts of Geoengineering Techniques. Center for International Environmental Law, 2025. https://www.ciel.org/geoengineering-biodiversity-risks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carlson |first1=Alana M. |title=The Biodiversity Impacts of Geoengineering Techniques |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=24 September 2025 |url=https://www.ciel.org/geoengineering-biodiversity-risks/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carlson2025biodiversity, author = {Carlson, Alana M.}, title = {{The Biodiversity Impacts of Geoengineering Techniques}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ciel.org/geoengineering-biodiversity-risks/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }