Geoengineering and Geopolitics in the Anthropocene

Geoengineering: The Next Era of Geopolitics?

• Abstract: The paper discusses the shift in geopolitics due to the Anthropocene, where the focus is now on remaking the global context rather than accepting it as a given.
  • The central question revolves around what kind of planet is being created and who gets to decide the future planetary configuration.
  • The discussion of geoengineering is gaining traction because of the limited success of climate mitigation efforts.
  • Governing geoengineering before major unilateral experiments is crucial to prevent conflicts over planetary temperature.
  • This new geopolitics of the Anthropocene needs contributions from geography and political geography.
  • The future of international relations requires considering the unpredictability and uncertainty caused by human-induced climate changes.

Geopolitics and Technology

• Geopolitics involves understanding how the world is known, imagined, divided, and integrated into the global economy.
  • This understanding has been shaped by European explorers and the rise of modern states.
  • American Cold War Culture significantly influenced geopolitics.
• Technical practices, such as cartography, satellite surveillance, and data collection, are used to understand, survey, dominate, and rule space.
  • These practices are linked to the rise of aviation, rockets, and nuclear weapons.
  • New technologies expanded surveillance capabilities during the Cold War.
• The International Geophysical Year (1957/58) initiated global monitoring of key Earth system parameters like atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
• Weather modification as a weapon was discussed during the Cold War, leading to the rise of meteorology as a global science.
  • China continues to use cloud seeding techniques to adjust weather patterns.
• Orbital space matters became integral with Sputnik symbolizing a threat that galvanized NASA.
• The world transformed into the whole Earth, requiring security as American policy.
• Nuclear war anxieties, discussions of nuclear winter, and ozone depletion highlighted Earth's vulnerability to human actions.
  • The planet itself became a material part of geopolitics.
• Climate science has been a part of geophysical knowledge in military matters and technogeopolitics; new plans aim to deliberately change planetary temperatures via geoengineering.
• Technical discussions on engineering the climate and setting planetary temperatures intersect with political questions about humanity's future.
  • Geopolitics is evolving into geological politics.
  • This involves a three-dimensional,