The Geoengineering Gamble: When Sky Is No Longer the Limit (ft. Hans van der Loo, Co-founder of the Blue Cooling Initiative)
Every so often, a bold new climate solution emerges - hailed as the answer to humanity's looming environmental crisis. From carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to nature-based solutions, these innovations offer hope. But one of the most provocative - and polarizing - is geoengineering.
Unlike traditional mitigation strategies, geoengineering doesn't aim to address the root causes of climate change. Instead, it proposes fixing the climate at a planetary scale, either by cooling the planet through the injection of particles into the stratosphere or fertilizing oceans.
So what happens when humanity decides to directly hack the sky ? Is this a Faustian pact for short-term gains, with long-term climate catastrophe waiting to unfold?
In this episode of 2050 Investors, host Kokou Agbo-Bloua dives deep into the world of geoengineering - what it is, what it isn't, and why it's so controversial. From ancient examples of human attempts to manipulate nature to cutting-edge techniques such as Carbon Dioxide Removal and Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB), Kokou explores the fine line between innovation and interference. He also examines the profound ethical, environmental and political questions that geoengineering raises, and whether these might encourage individuals and governments to become complacent.
To help unpack these complexities, Kokou is joined by Hans van der Loo, chairman of the Institute for Integrated Economic Research and Co-founder of the Blue Cooling Initiative, which focuses on MCB. Together, they explore the future of geoengineering in an age of rapid technological advancement - where AI and data science may improve precision but can't eliminate uncertainty. Hans argues that geoengineering may be one of humanity's best remaining options to buy much-needed time - but only if it is done responsibly.
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