English: Large-scale technological interventions to “fix” the climate crisis are moving up on the political agenda. Some climate scientists are now proposing geoengineering interventions in the oceans to halt global warming, such as fertilizing the oceans to draw down CO2 or to cover up large oceanic areas with synthetic materials to make their surfaces more reflective. But these schemes to manipulate our ecosystems and global natural processes come with great risks and uncertainties, as well as with foreseeable adverse impacts on marine ecosystems and human communities.
Part I of “A technofix for the climate?” presents some of the marine geoengineering approaches with a focus on their risks, negative impacts and potential side-effects, as well as on the question of governance of these technologies.