Written question asked by Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 October 2007.

Climate Change

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration they are giving to large-scale geo-engineering schemes as ways of tackling problems caused by global warming; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which such schemes may contribute to a solution to climate change.

Answer: Defra keeps in view potential geo-engineering options for mitigating climate change as they are presented, but does not currently support any research into the development of such large-scale geo-engineering schemes. Some large-scale geo-engineering schemes may have limited potential as a means of reducing future global warming. However, I understand there are significant scientific and technical concerns over all the currently high-profile geo-engineering ideas. There are also grave concerns about the risks of environmentally damaging side effects and considerable debate over the practicability and costs of such schemes. Our assessments are informed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment, whose latest report was published in 2007, by Defra-funded science undertaken at the Met Office Hadley Centre, and by UK Research Council scientists.

Secondary information