A critical examination of the climate engineering moral hazard and risk compensation concern

Reynolds, Jesse

doi:10.1177/2053019614554304

Cited by 96Climate Change and GeoengineeringClimate Change Policy and EconomicsSustainability and Climate Change Governance

A critical examination of the climate engineering moral hazard and risk compensation concern

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Reynolds, Jesse·2015·The Anthropocene Review

DOI 10.1177/2053019614554304

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Abstract

The widespread concern that research into and potential implementation of climate engineering would reduce mitigation and adaptation is critically examined. First, empirical evidence of such moral hazard or risk compensation in general is inconclusive, and the empirical evidence to date in the case of climate engineering indicates that the reverse may occur. Second, basic economics of substitutes shows that reducing mitigation in response to climate engineering implementation could provide net benefits to humans and the environment, and that climate engineering might theoretically increase mitigation through strong income effects. Third, existing policies strive to promote other technologies and measures, including climate adaptation, which induce analogous risk-compensating behaviours. If the goal of climate policy is to minimize climate risks, this concern should not be grounds for restricting or prohibiting climate engineering research. Three potential means for this concern to manifest in genuinely deleterious ways, as well as policy options to reduce these effects, are identified.

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SAI may be used to justify the continued existence of fossil fuel industries.
“SAI may also be used to justify the continued existence of fossil fuel industries. This is a potential adverse incentive core to the 'moral hazard' problem (Reynolds, 2015; Lockley and Coffman, 2016).”
From A Fate Worse Than Warming? Stratospheric Aerosol Injection and Global Catastrophic Risk (2021) · cites this paper as Reynolds, 2015

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A new paradigm from the Arctic
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The Hoosier Science Teacher, Volume 47, Issue 1
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15. A Fate Worse Than Warming?
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Climate Imagineering
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International Law: Other Agreements
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Bibliography
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Introduction
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Climate Change and Solar Geoengineering
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US Law
Reynolds, J. L. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316676790.009
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Nonstate Governance
Reynolds, J. L. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316676790.010
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International Relations
Reynolds, J. L. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316676790.004
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International Law: The Climate and Atmosphere
Reynolds, J. L. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316676790.006
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Solar Geoengineering and Emissions Abatement
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Nonstate Actors and Intellectual Property
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Conclusion
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Language, knowledge, power: The Discursive Construction of Climate Engineering Governance
Boettcher, M. (2022) · doi:10.33540/1079
Climate Action and Low-Carbon Economy
Mbeva, K., & Makomere, R. (2019) · Encyclopedia of the UN sustainable development goals · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71063-1_97-1
Index
Reynolds, J. L. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316676790.016
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Krūmiņa-Koņkova, Solveiga; Ruiz-Pereira, Sebastian; Peterson, Voltair Alvarado; Mazlovskis, Arnis; Leitlande, Gita; Mieriņa, Inta; Stašulāne, Anita;Oželis, Remigijus; Plenne, Valdis Francisks; Grizāne, Maija; Dreimane, Jana
Krūmiņa-Koņkova, S. (2022) · Reliģiski-filozofiski raksti · doi:10.22364/rfr.32
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Hubris and Humility in the Face of Climate Overshoot
Fulvi, D., & Wodak, J. (2025) · Nature and Culture · doi:10.3167/nc.2025.200203
Macrosecuritisation failure and technological lock-in: lessons from the history of the bomb
Rendall, M. (2026) · European Journal of International Relations · doi:10.1177/13540661251398367
Some companies claim they can ‘resurrect’ species. Does that make people more comfortable with extinction?
Lean, C. H., Rogers, W., Latham, A. J., & Sandrussi, A. (2026) · doi:10.64628/aa.jy99gpjvm
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Quantifying the importance of ecosystem services in the context of agricultural carbon dioxide removal and rewetting – A deliberative choice experiment
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Authors: Reynolds, J.
Affiliations: Tilburg University (NL)
Corresponding author: Reynolds, Jesse
ORCID: Reynolds, Jesse
Venue: The Anthropocene Review
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2014-10-08
Volume: 2
Issue: 2
Pages: 174-191
ISSN: 2053-0196 (ISSN-L)
2053-020X
DOI: 10.1177/2053019614554304
OpenAlex: W2136314398
Cited by: 96
References: 88
Citations by year: 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 3
FWCI: 4.38
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
doi.org
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: The Anthropocene Review (publishedVersion)
SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
Research portal (Tilburg University) (submittedVersion)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Keywords: geoengineering, moral hazard, risk compensation, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, income effects, climate policy

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A critical examination of the climate engineering moral hazard and risk compensation concern

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