European Transdisciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering (EuTRACE)

Dr. Stefan Schäfer

Research Group Leader

The EuTRACE report is the main output of this study giving an overview of the state of knowledge of climate engineering.

EuTRACE Executive Summary
Final report

Growing concern over the risks of climate change has led to increased interest in “Climate Engineering” (CE), sometimes also called “Geoengineering”. Climate engineering is rapidly gaining scientific, political, commercial and public attention as a possible response to climate change.

The two major CE technology categories currently include:

carbon dioxide removal (CDR), for example by enhancing the uptake of carbon dioxide by the biosphere, the ocean or by artificial means;
“solar radiation management” (SRM), for example by injecting reflective particles into the stratosphere or brightening clouds to reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches earth.

Many uncertainties remain about the effectiveness and risks of CE. These include impacts on the environment, but also the potential socio-political consequences of intense scientific research itself, which might creat a false sense of security and could possibly derail efforts to reduce emissions (the so-called “moral hazard” of CE). The role of CE with respect to mitigation and adaptation in the overall climate change discussion also remains unclear: is CE just one more of the many viable approaches – if at all viable – to be deployed simultaneously in addressing the risks of climate change, or should its use be restricted to worst case (“climate emergency”) scenarios?

The EuTRACE project (European Trans-disciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering) was a response to these needs. It was formed to compliment other national and international assessments of CE, in particular through providing a distinctly European perspective that draws upon contributions from a range of scientific and non-expert stakeholders. The goal of EuTRACE was to assess the current state of knowledge on CE from the trans-disciplinary perspective of the natural sciences, engineering, economics, ethics, politics, and law, and to communicate the findings to a wide audience.

The specific aims of EuTRACE were:

To pool top independent experts engaged in CE and climate change research across Europe to develop a next-generation assessment of (and assessment criteria for) the potential, uncertainties, risks and implications of various CE options. EuTRACE gathered the cutting-edge knowledge in the field and examined how CE relates to the ambitious climate targets of the EU and its member states.
To actively engage in dialogue with the policy makers, civil society and the wider public across Europe to inform stakeholders about the benefits and perils, uncertainties and risks of climate engineering.
To outline policy options and pathways for the EU and its partners to address the challenges CE poses. Based on assessing the most recent scientific knowledge as well as the perception and perspectives gathered through active dialogue, EuTRACE determined the most critically needed future research activities with regard to climate engineering. This included the role, if any, played by CE in global climate policies. Amongst other events, EuTRACE hosted a series of five science and policy briefings. For Further information see the reports below.
To identify the most important gaps in curren understanding of CE. 14 partner organizations from Germany, the UK, Norway, France and Austria, ranging from the natural sciences & engineering, social sciences and the humanities joined forces to address these questions.

EuTRACE was a project within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union that was funded for 28 months from 01 June 2012 - 30 September 2014. It was coordinated by the IASS.

The EuTRACE project team

Climate change is a cross-cutting issue, involving broad aspects of science and society. Consequently, holistically assessing the potential benefits and perils of climate engineering requires a matching range of competencies across a variety of fields.
For this purpose, the project will be led by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Science (IASS). The IASS has gathered several top scientists in the field of climate engineering working at world-class institutions in Germany, the UK, Norway, France and Austria as partners to jointly address the natural science and social challenges of climate engineering. The following partners will work on EuTRACE:

From Germany:

The IASS: Mark Lawrence (scientific lead; solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal), Achim Maas (policy engagement and outreach), Wanda Born (project management and outreach), Sebastian Unger (climate governance)

adelphi: Irina Comardicea (public and policy dialogue and outreach), Paola Adriázola (public and policy dialogue and outreach), Dennis Tänzler (policy recommendations), Alexander Carius (policy engagement)

The Kiel Earth Institute (KEI): Gernot Klepper (economics of climate engineering), Alexander Proelß (international environmental law and governance), Andreas Oschlies (carbon dioxide removal and oceanography)

The Klima Campus Hamburg (KCH): Hauke Schmidt (solar radiation management, coordinator of the EU FP7 IMPLICC project); Jürgen Scheffran (risk analysis and security policy)

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): Thomas Leisner (atmospheric science), Gregor Betz (philosophy and argument analysis)

From the UK:

The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (UEA) (headquartered at the University of East Anglia): Naomi Vaughan (atmospheric science, science/policy interface and dissemination),Tim Rayner (climate governance); Asher Minns (communication strategy/dissemination), Jason Chilvers (stakeholders and governance issues), Andrew Jordan (environmental governance)

The University of Exeter (UNEXE): Tim Lenton (earth system modeling and co-evolution of life and environment), Jim Haywood (atmospheric science, in particular aerosols),Patrick Devine-Right (social and psychological perspectives), Richard Owen (risk assessment and governance)

Bristol University (BU): Matt Watson (atmospheric natural hazards)

The University of Edinburgh (UEDIN): Stuart Haszeldine (carbon capture and storage and Simon Shackley (innovation and technology studies), Vivian Scott (ocean carbon cycle)

From Norway:

The University of Oslo (UiO): and Jon Egill Kristjansson (atmospheric science), Kari Alterkær (aerosol cloud interactions)

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MetNo): Michael Schulz (atmospheric science)

The Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO): Asbjörn Aaheim (economics), and Anne Therese Gullberg (political science).

From France:

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-LMD): Olivier Boucher (Earth System modeling)

From Austria:

The University of Graz (UG): Lukas Meyer (ethics of climate change and climate engineering), Harald Stelzer (normative political theory)

Publications & Reports Repository

EuTRACE Reports:

Policymakers' and Public Perspectives on Climate Engineering

The aim of Work Package 6 (WP6) was to carry out dialogue on the topic of climate engineering with policy actors and with the broader public. This report presents a brief profile of each activity carried out by the WP6 project partners, the objectives behind them and results achieved. Most importantly, it collects the main concerns, questions and key messages by policy actors and other stakeholders in all EuTRACE stakeholder meetings.

Opening Debate: What is Climate Engineering?

The EuTRACE Opening Debate brought together a group of research, policy, and civil society representative, all of whom had previous knowledge around climate engineering (CE), to discuss questions, concerns, and opportunities regarding CE. The debate strongly leaned towards open questions and concerns, highlighting the focus of current debate taking place in the media and in the academic community on answering questions and establishing research and policy boundaries.

EuTRACE Journal:

The EuTRACE journal includes written contributions from various experts involved in the EuTRACE project. All entries are listed below.

EuTRACE Essay No 1:

Moral Haze Clouds Geoengineering
by Clive Hamilton - EuTRACE Project Advisory Board member and proffesor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia

EuTRACE Essay No 2:

Climate Engineering & International Law: Challenges for Scientists and Scholars
by Alexander Proelß - EuTRACE Project Partner and proffessor of public law at Trier University, Germany

EuTRACE Essay No 3:

Communicating Climate Engineering
by Asher Minns - EuTRACE Project Partner and science communicator at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research

Journal Articles:

"Storing Carbon for Geologically Long Timescales to Engineer Climate"
R. Stuart Haszeldine and Vivian Scott in: Geoengineering of the Climate System. R M Harrison & R E Hester (eds). 2014, 22-51. DOI:10.1039/9781782621225-00022

"The Global Potential for Carbon Dioxide Removal"
Timothy M. Lenton in: Geoengineering of the Climate System. R M Harrison & R E Hester (eds). 2014, 52-79. DOI:10.1039/9781782621225-00052.

"Solar Radiation Management and the Governance of Hubris"
Richard Owen in: Geoengineering of the Climate System. R M Harrison & R E Hester (eds). 2014, 212-248. DOI:10.1039/9781782621225-00212

"In Case of Emergency Press Here: Framing Geoengineering as a Response to Dangerous Climate Change"
Markusson, N., et al. (2014). Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 5(2): 281-290. DOI: 10.1002/wcc.263

"Ocean Upwelling and International Law"
Proelss, A., and Chang H. Ocean Development and International Law, 43 (2012), pp. 371-385. DOI: 10.1080/00908320.2012.726843

"Geoengineering and International Law"
Alexander Proelss. Security and Peace, 30 (2012), pp. 205-211. DOI: 10.5771/0175-274x-2012-4-205

"Rethinking Climate Engineering Categorization in the Context of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation"
Boucher, O., P. M. Forster, N. Gruber, M. Ha-Duong, M. Lawrence, T. M. Lenton, A. Maas, and N. Vaughan. WIREs Climate Change, 5 (2013), PP. 23-35. DOI:10.1002/wcc.261, 2014.

Media Coverage:

"Sustainability: Environmental puzzle solvers"
Interview with Mark Lawrence (IASS) by Amanda Mascarelli, published in Nature 494, 507–509 (28 February 2013). DOI:10.1038/nj7438-507a.

"Devra-t-on manipuler le climat?" ["Do we have to manipulate the climate?"]
Interview with Olivier Boucher (CNRS) by Jaques Henno, published in Les Echos, (02 July 2013). (only available in French).

Information Kit:

The EuTRACE information kit is comprised of materials intended to provide a basic overview of the EuTRACE project. It includes: