Climate engineering vs. geoengineering

The United Nations’ Paris Agreement of 2015 had nations committing to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to slow the rise in global temperatures. But terrestrial geoengineering – or the use of “carbon capture” technologies and developing carbon sinks to remove gases already in the atmosphere – and atmospheric climate engineering are technologies which also seek to slow global warming

The United Nations’ Paris Agreement of 2015 had nations committing to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to slow the rise in global temperatures, but they also acknowledged that emissions-reduction alone is inadequate as a solution. Using “carbon capture” technologies and developing carbon sinks to remove gases already in the atmosphere – a form of terrestrial geoengineering – can help achieve the Paris pact’s goal of keeping the global average surface temperature from rising more than the 1.5 degrees Celsius. In contrast, atmospheric climate engineering seeks to slow global warming by altering local weather patterns. This infographic on the two technologies explains their pros and cons

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