Geo-engineering: a curse or a blessing?

In recent years, geo-engineering has been suggested as a viable strategy in dealing with climate change, the main indicator of what has become known as ‘the Anthropocene’. In this paper, I investigate the effects of geo-engineering in terms of freedom – not the only but perhaps the most important measure of moral and political desirability. Is geo-engineering a curse or a blessing, a poison or a medicine? I argue that four interpretations of the concept of freedom are relevant to this case: effective freedom (understood as ‘actions one can undertake’), opportunity freedom (a misnomer since it stands for the value of freedom), and liberal versus republican freedom. While the freedom effects of geo-engineering may well be (positive but) negligible for individuals, they will be considerably larger for states and societies, and moreover negative in terms of independence. Paradoxically, both individuals and society that value a private sphere (respectively sovereignty) will need to embrace a degree of republican freedom to protect that liberal freedom.