The Risks of Geoengineering Accelerating Biodiversity Loss and Compounding Planetary Crises

This policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that geoengineering technologies are speculative 'fixes' that fail to address the root causes of the climate crisis and instead risk accelerating biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and human rights violations.

• Geoengineering technologies are described as speculative interventions that do not address the drivers of climate change and may instead accelerate ecosystem collapse and species extinction, potentially compromising the biosphere's ability to regulate climate and provide vital functions.
• There has been a significant increase in proposed outdoor geoengineering experiments. Between 1971 and 2023, at least 598 trials were proposed, with over 90 percent occurring between 2004 and 2023, and more than half of those between 2019 and 2023.
• Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) technologies, such as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), could cause uneven regional cooling and disrupt the hydrologic cycle. A uniform dimming scenario for SAI is expected to result in a 2 percent global decrease in mean precipitation, particularly impacting equatorial and monsoon regions.
• Marine-based geoengineering, including ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and enhanced weathering, would require mining operations on a scale similar to the current global coal mining industry, which would exacerbate habitat degradation and loss.
• Biomass-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, such as BECCS and biochar, risk massive land-use changes. Idealized BECCS could require up to 3 billion hectares of productive land, potentially leading to land grabs and the conversion of biodiverse tropical grasslands into plantations.
• Direct air capture (DAC) technologies pose significant water security risks. Capturing just 1 percent of 2022 anthropogenic CO2 emissions using aqueous sorbent-based DAC would require approximately 1,730 metric tons of water, exceeding the annual domestic freshwater withdrawals of 144 out of 181 nations.
• The deployment of SRM creates a risk of 'termination shock,' where an abrupt cessation of the technology would lead to rapid temperature increases, potentially causing greater species death and socioeconomic consequences because ecosystems would have become less resilient under temperature masking.
• Geoengineering deployment may violate the human rights of millions, disproportionately impacting Indigenous Peoples, peasants, and fisherfolk. It risks perpetuating neocolonialism by concentrating power among Global North elites and major powers while creating 'sacrifice zones' in vulnerable areas.
• International governance currently includes a de facto global moratorium on geoengineering under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 2010, which was reaffirmed in 2024. Additionally, the London Convention/London Protocol prohibits ocean fertilization except for limited scientific research.

APA

Carlson, A. M., & Church, M. (2024). The Risks of Geoengineering Accelerating Biodiversity Loss and Compounding Planetary Crises. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Risks-of-Geoengineering_CIEL_briefing_Nov.pdf

Chicago

Carlson, Alana M., and Mary Church. The Risks of Geoengineering Accelerating Biodiversity Loss and Compounding Planetary Crises. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Risks-of-Geoengineering_CIEL_briefing_Nov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carlson |first1=Alana M. |last2=Church |first2=Mary |title=The Risks of Geoengineering Accelerating Biodiversity Loss and Compounding Planetary Crises |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Risks-of-Geoengineering_CIEL_briefing_Nov.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carlson2024risks, author = {Carlson, Alana M. and Church, Mary}, title = {{The Risks of Geoengineering Accelerating Biodiversity Loss and Compounding Planetary Crises}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Risks-of-Geoengineering_CIEL_briefing_Nov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }