Theme 5: New Research and Emerging Technology: Balancing Speed and Caution

There is little doubt that we are facing an intensifying climate crisis, driven by fossil fuel use. The speed of climate change, the destructive power of extreme climate events – flooding, wildfire, hurricanes – and the apocalyptic scenarios set out by scientists and the media make the search for solutions, both mitigation and adaptation, urgent. But many proposed solutions are untested and with uncertain outcomes. In the face of this global crisis, how should we balance speed with caution? How do we navigate the ethics of risk? What should guide our decision making?

In this session, Delphine Thizzy looks at genetic options to address the climate-change driven dispersal of mosquito vectors for malaria. She introduces fascinating ethical tensions between the urgent search for local solutions where malaria is having a devastating effect, and global caution concerning the risks of using genetic solutions. Ignacio Mastroleo explores a thwarted geoengineering research attempt to disperse small amounts of calcium carbonate into the atmosphere to explore possibilities of limiting solar radiation. His is a cautionary tale about engagement, local unease and the risks of ‘parachute’ research. Matimba Swama takes us on a leap into the future with the possibility of swarms of mini-drones – robobees – to replace our declining natural pollinators. But what might be the unintended consequences of such a high-tech approach? What would be the implications for global biodiversity if these robotic pollinators focus solely on cash crops? Shouldn’t we be trying to support natural pollinators? 

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