Geoengineering: A New Battlefield for Climate Warfare

The provided text offers a comprehensive strategic assessment of geoengineering's military and geopolitical implications, identifying it as a significant national security challenge. It distinguishes between Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods, which pose fewer direct weaponization risks, and Solar Radiation Management (SRM) techniques, particularly Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), which present profound security concerns due to their rapid, uneven, and potentially catastrophic effects. The document highlights how SRM could be leveraged for coercion and conflict, with regional disparities and the risk of "termination shock" creating new vulnerabilities and strategic targets. Furthermore, it analyzes the divergent strategic interests of global powers—the U.S. viewing it through a national security lens, China for regional hegemony and resource security, and Russia for hybrid warfare—which contribute to a dangerous "attribution dilemma" and an inadequate international legal framework, increasing the pathways to conflict. Ultimately, the text recommends proactive measures for the U.S. and its allies, including enhanced monitoring, deterrence, wargaming, and strategic diplomacy, to navigate this emerging "unnatural battlefield."

Research done with the help of artificial intelligence, and presented by two AI-generated hosts.