Wil Burns, Co-Director, Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment
RAEL Lab Meeting
12:00 pm, 15 April 2015
310 Barrows Hall, Room 323
—Wednesday—
While geoengineering was once considered to be “taboo” in the forum of climate change policymaking, the increasing desperation engendered by the specter of passing critical temperature thresholds has led to increasing interest in the approach, including by key stakeholders. Even President Obama’s chief science advisor has indicated that geoengineering should “not be taken off the table” as a potential component of climate policymaking. The purpose of this presentation will be to assess the potential benefits of climate geoengineering, as well as potential negative impacts. Moreover, the presentation will discuss governance issues, including pertinent international treaty regimes, the contours of a potential framework for liability for potential negative impacts.
Wil Burns currently serves as the Co-Director of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, a scholarly initiative of the School of International Service at American University. He previously served as Director of the Energy Policy & Climate program at Johns Hopkins University and has taught also at Tulane University’s School of Law, Colby College and Williams College. He holds a Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Wales-Cardiff School of Law.