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20 Eur. Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 187 (2011)
Geoengineering and Law: A Case Study of Carbon Capture and Storage in the European Union

handle is hein.kluwer/eelr0020 and id is 187 raw text is: European Energy and Environmental Law Review October 2011 187 Geoengineering and Law Geoengineering and Law: A Case Study of Carbon Capture and Storage in the European Union Nidhi Srivastava* Introduction With the growing concern over climate change and the possibility of irreversible impacts, states are trying to diversify their mitigation and adaptation strategies and looking at new technologies and techniques to counter- act climate change. Geoengineering is one such techni- que that has begun to garner interest from academia, governments and private companies. However, the actual potential and externalities associated with geoen- gineering are still unclear and irreversibilities and abrupt, nonlinear changes in the Earth system' are possible. Besides scientific issues, there is a need to examine issues around the legal uncertainty and (in) ability of the current regime to regulate the geoengineer- ing activities. This paper highlights some of such legal issues that may arise in the context of geoengineering. A case study of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is undertaken to see how some techniques are becoming more acceptable and a part of the European Union legal system, even while they are still at an early stage. This paper does not comment on the safety of CCS or any other form of geoengineering but engages with some questions that may have an implication for overall geoengineering practices. I. Geoengineering - Concepts and issues 1.1 Definition and Types All the recent definitions of geoengineering have been exclusively in terms of climate change. The Royal Society defines it as the deliberate large-scale manip- ulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change.2 The UK House of Commons too defines it in terms of climate change to describe activities that are specifically and deliberately designed3 towards the same. The US Congressional Service also describes geoengineering as an array of technologies that aim, through large-scale and deliber- ate modifications of the Earth's energy balance, to reduce temperatures and counteract anthropogenic climate change.4 Therefore, the manipulation may not necessarily be aimed at changing the environment, but simply keeping it unchanged despite natural or anthropogenic changes.5 Although the concept of geoengineering is not very new, the definition is still ambiguous and all encompassing. This raises certain questions - how does one distinguish geoengineering from other mitigation measures?6 How large is large scale? Some scientists suggest that scale, intent, and degree of countervailing measure will distinguish geoengineering from other responses.7 There is also a concern with defining geoengineering purely in terms of climate change, questioning the narrow, aim oriented definition of an engineering practice.8 Primarily, there are two categories of geoengineer- ing technologies - carbon dioxide removal (CDR), and solar radiation management (SRM). CDR aims at tackling climate change by removing CO2 from the atmosphere itself, thereby reducing the potential of global warming and other associated harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions. It includes methods such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), afforesta- tion, in-situ carbonation of silicates and ocean fertilization.9 SRM is meant to enhance reflection of solar radiation back to the space and thus keep its absorption in the atmosphere low.10 This could be done through surface (land and ocean) albedos, cloud seeding, stratospheric aerosols. While modification of weather as a result of activities under the above- * Student, Institute for Environmental and Energy Law, KU Leuven) sriv.nidhi@gmail.com. ' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) The IPCC FIFTH Assessment Report (AR5): Proposal for an IPCC Expert Meeting on Geoengineering, IPCC-XXXII/ Doc. 5 (3.IX.2010) Agenda Item: 4.2 at the thirty-second session of the IPCC held at Busan, 11-14 October 2010. 2 The Royal society, Geoengineering the climate: science, governance and uncertainty, RS Policy document 10/09 SLondon: Royal Society: 2009). House of commons Science and Technology Committee - Fifth Report , The Regulation of Geoengineering, HC 221 London: The Stationery Office Limited:2010). Bracmort, Kelsi, Lattanzio, Richard, Barbour, Emily C., Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy, Con- gressional Research Service Report, Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress, August 2010. 5 Keith, David, Geoengineering the climate: History and Prospect, Annual Rev. Energy Environ. 2000. 25: 245-84. 6 Several ambiguities exist in this regard, such as can afforestation be called geoengineering? Is REDD also form of geoengineering as it serves as a carbon sink? Can a simple act like planting trees be seen as large scale manipulation? 7 Note 4. 8 Fleming, James, Weather As A Weapon: The Troubling History Of Geoengineering So Far, September 2010. Available on url http://sustainablesecurity.org/article/ weather-weapon-troubling-history-geoengineering-so-far last accessed on 1st January 2011. 9 Royal Society 2009 p. 9 note 1. 10 Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Geoengineering Research, Postnote, March 2009 Number 327. Ibid.

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