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 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.
About the Author
As a lecturer at Yale University, Wake Smith teaches a world-leading undergraduate course on climate intervention, which forms the basis for this book. Smith is also a Senior Fellow at Harvard, writing scholarly articles on costs, aeronautics, and governance of solar geoengineering. Prior to his academic career, Smith served in several executive roles in the aeronautical industry, including as the President of a division of Boeing.
Industry Reviews
'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
'A well written, accurate and entertaining guide to climate change and climate intervention techniques that gives readers all the keys to make up their own mind on the topic.' Olivier Boucher, Climatologist, Sorbonne Universite, Paris
'With careful explanations of the technologies, policies, governance issues, and ethical dilemmas involved, Pandora's Toolbox emerges as 'must reading' for all who seek to understand the pathways to a successful global response to climate change.' Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University, New Haven, CT
'Smith's book is the ?rst-of-its-kind textbook introduction to Carbon Dioxide Removal, embedding the topic in the full spectrum of currently discussed responses, reaching from mitigation and adaptation all the way to Solar Radiation Management. It paves the way for the societal discourse we so urgently need to have now.' Sabine Fuss, Group Leader, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin
'In the Greek myth Pandora was curious and she opened a box thus releasing evils into the world. Here we explore the contents of the box more carefully. In it we ?nd tools useful for climate repair. This great book gives us a ray of hope in a situation where everything looks rather bleak.' Hugh Hunt, Fellow of Trinity College, University of Cambridge
'Pandora's Toolbox introduces the reader to climate intervention - if you haven't heard of this yet, you will, because the author makes a compelling case that managing a future world with climate change will need a bigger toolbox. Wake Smith has a remarkable gift for making his subject accessible.' Douglas Graham MacMartin, Senior Lecturer, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
'At last, a realistic and un?inching view of the hard reality of climate choices that are coming. Smith's treatise is that avoiding a dystopian nightmare future requires levels of political courage in our scienti?c convictions not seen since the Second World War.' John Moore, Chief Scientist at the College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University
'An overview of climate change and the array of possible responses that manages to be simultaneously comprehensive, detailed, and accessible. It's jam-packed with the sort of speci?c, practical detail that is usually missing in such overviews. A valuable contribution and an impressive achievement.' Edward A. Parson, Dan and Rae Emmett Professor of Environmental Law, University of California
'Pandora's Toolbox is a remarkable technical communication achievement: Smith explains a dauntingly intimidating topic with clarity and grace, and never overwhelms ...' Geoff Hart, Society for Technical Communication
'Impressively, this guide offers ... one of the most comprehensive syntheses of Eastern African stone tool evidence to date ... This guide, and the associated EAST Typology, is a welcome addition to the reading list of any student or professional interested in African archeology. The style, content and nature of the book is ideally pitched as an introduction for those with little to no prior knowledge of the Eastern African stone tool record, providing helpful guidance, clear illustrations and detailed descriptions. Its extensive coverage of Eastern African stone tool evidence is outstanding but not overwhelming for beginners due to its simple and straightforward language. The EAST Typology is an easy to-use yet comprehensive mode-based system that could be easily adopted by students and professionals alike.' Lucy Timbrell, Evolutionary Anthropology
'... the book will prove a useful reference for decades to come. ' Christian A. Tryon, American Antiquity
'This thoughtful, very readable book provides a balanced introduction to climate intervention and an overview of outstanding related issues, the writing is engaging, and its extensive citations and comprehensive index support the reader's further investigation. This book explores a provocative topic and is a good read. ... Highly recommended.' I. D. Sasowsky, Choice
