Experiment Earth

Geoengineering has become the focus of a vital debate about the intended and unintended consequences of innovation. This introduction to responsible innovation, as a new approach to governance, explains the broad sweep of technoscience that is brought under the umbrella of ,,geoengineering". The possibility of exerting control over the global climate introduces profound social, political and ethical questions. The book explores these issues through the lens of the research project SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) one of the first major geoengineering studies worldwide, and one of the first to include an outdoor test of a technology for Solar Radiation Management - the reflection of sunlight to cool the planet. The book uses the idea of experimentation to consider how and why research projects become controversial. It also introduces recent 'experiments' in governance, involving new conversations with civil society and others, to explain science-in-society and suggest new ways forward. SPICE is not just a case study of geoengineering research in action. It is also a case study of responsible innovation in action. It illustrates broader dynamics that are of substantial relevance to both wider geoengineering debates and wider science and technology governance debates.The book discusses a full range of geoengineering issues including other cases of real-word experimentation, such as the Haida Gwaii ocean iron fertilisation experiment, and other expert assessments, such as those by the GAO and Bipartisan Policy Commission. This book takes a critical stance on existing assumptions about ethical issues and economics and thus gives students, researchers and the general reader interested in the place of science in contemporary society a compelling framework for future thinking and discussion.