Technological Innovation and Social Change

Conference on engineering responses to climate change
I heard a radio discussion of this conference yeaterday, it sounds to be very illuminating and not at all uncritical...
"Reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by the amount (say 50%) which may be
necessary to avoid excessive climate change, will be very difficult. If combined with
significant convergence internationally, it will moreover require the developed countries
to reduce their emissions by much larger proportions, such as 90% (for the USA) and 80%
(for Europe). Many people feel that it is very unlikely that such reductions can be
achieved just by improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon intensity by using
renewable sources of energy. Specifically, conventional approaches may not be sufficient
regarding either their magnitude and their time-scale. Because of the urgency of
implementing climate-change management, more innovative approaches to the mitigation
of climate change are likely to be needed. Indeed, new options may already be needed
during the Second Commitment Period for the Kyoto Protocol. Any alternatives such as
possible macro-engineering options for climate change management and mitigation
therefore need to be widely discussed and properly evaluated, as soon as possible, before
they can be seriously considered for implementation. The Tyndall Centre for Climate
Change Research and the Cambridge-MIT Institute are therefore jointly convening a
Symposium in Cambridge, England, on 7-9 January 2004, whose purpose is
To identify, debate, and evaluate possible macro-engineering approaches
to the management and mitigation of climate change."