Reaching net zero emissions will not be the end of the climate struggle, but only the end of the beginning. For centuries thereafter, temperatures will remain elevated; climate damages will continue to accrue and sea levels will continue to rise. Even the urgent and utterly essential task of reaching net zero cannot be achieved rapidly by emissions reductions alone. To hasten net zero and minimize climate damages thereafter, we will also need massive carbon removal and storage. We may even need to reduce incoming solar radiation in order to lower unacceptably high temperatures. Such unproven and potentially risky climate interventions raise mind-blowing questions of governance and ethics. Pandora's Toolbox offers readers an accessible and authoritative introduction to both the hopes and hazards of some of humanity's most controversial technologies, which may nevertheless provide the key to saving our world.
'Getting down to brass tacks, Pandora's Toolbox provides a balanced and sophisticated examination of climate interventions. The reader will take away a rigorous understanding of the engineering, economic, ethical, social, political, and international relations dimensions of climate engineering tools and an informed appreciation for how deployment of a broad range of tools can most effectively reduce the human misery caused by climate change.' Joseph Aldy, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA