Published Jan. 23, 2015

In this extended interview, Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre on Climate Change, Professor Kevin Anderson discusses a wide range of issues relating to climate change, associated impacts, policy and social implications.

Professor Anderson speaks very lucidly about the mistakes that have been made regarding economic policy, such as bailing out the banks when a true stimulus could have been achieved by giving the capital directly to the people in order to increase residence and energy efficiency in our homes. The effects of a policy of this nature would have created jobs and a true value stimulus.

Professor Anderson also speaks about climate engineering emphasising that we must do the research but there can be no climate engineering without real cuts to emissions. If we have to wilfully engineer our climate then it must be done hand in hand with curbing emissions.

Two things struck me from his interview. First, talking about the bank bailouts; I can't help but agree with the sentiment that those resources were wasted in a way. I suppose keeping our economic system functioning is important, but when considering the ease to which such a vast amount of monetary resources was conjured up, and its per capita value, especially if we're thinking about TARP and QE here in the US, I wonder if there could have been other, more forward thinking productive options besides the two most obvious ones, do nothing and let it all collapse, or write a blank check to the bankers.

Second, the idea geoengineering will save us, and not only that, but that it's baked into the IPCC's predictions and assumptions about the future, is a little worrying. The two main geoengineering technologies (blocking or reflecting solar radiation, and removing massive amounts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) both seem distant in terms of becoming reliable and implementable on a global scale.