Climate Geoengineering and Environmental Law: A Critical Study of India’s Regulatory Preparedness for Emerging Climate Intervention Technologies

Climate geoengineering, defined as large-scale human interference in the climate system to counteract climate change, has emerged as one of the most important, controversial and legally underexamined contemporary environmental governance frontiers. This study evaluates preparedness of India’s regulatory regime for governance of the emerging climate intervention technologies, namely Solar Radiation Management and Carbon Dioxide Removal techniques, in the context of international environmental law, as well as existing domestic laws of India. The study takes a doctrinal research approach by analysing the constitutional provisions of India along with environmental laws and international treaties of India. The findings are also compared with the European Union, USA and other emerging international governance. India lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework for climate geoengineering. However, the situation on the ground is more complicated. Important environmental laws including Environment Protection Act, 1986, National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, and others, cannot adequately govern the complex, transboundary, and potentially catastrophic risks associated with large-scale climate intervention technologies. The paper outlines crucial governance failures at the national and international levels, assesses the limitations of existing multilateral environmental agreements to deal with the said risks, and critically evaluates India’s ambiguous and evolving response towards international geoengineering governance. The study recommends a framework at the end for regulatory reform involving creation of geo-engineering law, setting up of specialised regulatory authority and active Indian involvement in creation of binding international governance norms for climate intervention technologies. This paper attempts to analyze the inherent barriers to climate geoengineering in India through the prism of environmental law.