Climate Restoration Roadmap 2024

The Climate Emergency Forum welcomes Peter Fiekowsky back to discuss his recently released Climate Restoration Roadmap 2024 paper which outlines a plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 and restore a historically safe climate by 2050.

This video was recorded on February 13th, 2024, and published on March 3rd, 2024, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

Peter presents a vision for restoring the climate by engaging individuals in a hypothetical exercise to emphasize the simplicity and affordability of reverting CO2 levels to those of a century ago. The dialogue outlines a detailed roadmap for climate restoration, focusing on governance, funding mechanisms like the Grandparents Fund, and nature-inspired solutions such as ocean fertilization and methane oxidation.

Regina introduces Peter, highlighting his expertise and the urgent need to address climate change issues often overlooked by mainstream media. Peter engages the audience in an exercise, proposing a hypothetical button to revert atmospheric CO2 levels to those of a century ago, emphasizing the feasibility and affordability of climate restoration efforts.

The participants express support for Peter's pragmatic approach to climate restoration and acknowledge the critical state of the planet. They discuss the necessity of shifting societal consciousness towards prioritizing climate restoration as an emergency response. The dialogue applauds Peter's structured plan for addressing climate change and highlights recent validations from institutions like MIT, Bezos Earth Fund, and California, signaling a growing momentum towards climate restoration efforts globally.

Links:
- Climate Restoration Working Paper

- Climate Restoration: The Only Future That Will Sustain the Human Race (Book)

- Bezos Earth Fund

- California Senate passes first climate-restoration resolution: Safe climate an "obligation to future generations"

- Climate Restoration Safety and Governance Board

- The Grandparents Fund for Climate Restoration

- Global Climate Changes as Forecast by Goddard Institute for Space Studies Three-Dimensional Model (pdf)

- Unprecedented Crime (Book)

- Charles David Keeling

- Rocking Chair Rebellion

- A New Climate Vocabulary (CEF Video)

- The Pinatubo Pause and Natural Ocean Iron Fertilization

- RAND Corporation

- Global Warming in the Pipeline and Earth's Energy Imbalance (CEF Video)

- Ocean Restoration Update 2023 (CEF Video)

- Global Carbon Budget 2023

Guest:
Peter Fiekowsky - As an MIT-trained physicist and entrepreneur Peter is committed to leaving a world we can be proud of to our children. This commitment has driven his work on multiple climate initiatives, including founding the Foundation for Climate Restoration & helping launch the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. He is also founder & president of Automated Visual Inspection (AVI) LLC. He holds 27 patents.

Regular Panelists:
Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer & the director of the Climate Emergency Institute

Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Prof. at the Univ. of Ottawa's Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow & LEED Green Associate

Video Production & Panelists:
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster & IT prime for Facing Future & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

Heidi Brault - Video production & website assistant, Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP team lead for the Climate Emergency Forum & Facing Future; BA (Psych.); Climate Reality Leader

Our Website:

Attributions:
Background Music:
- Title: Through the City II
- Author: Crowander
- Source: Free Music Archive
- License: CC BY-NC 4.0

#climateaction

[ScienceTalkwithJimMassa]

I am an oceanographer. Iron fertilization has been tried several times. All were failures. There was one study that showed possible positive results, but the long term effects were minimal and short lived. With any geoengineering scheme, there are always unforeseen parameters, unanticipated interactions that just yields results that were not the desired ones and unintended consequences. Remember, we have been doing a huge geoengineering experiment to the planet for close to 300 years. To think you can reverse all this damage within 10-20 years is naive and foolhardy. You can't argue with physics. And for this MIT physicist to think this is possible is just mind blowing.

[treefrog]

The Climate Restoration Roadmap 20024 is a BEAUTIFUL, necessary and immensely sensible plan. It is also a pollyanna-ish conglomeration of wishful thinking. The operative economic forces that have led us to this ecological precipice are ever-more powerful than they were decades ago. Greed and Power has over-whelmed the "better angels" of humanity. As much as I admire your benign efforts, I am simultaneously awed by your naiveté. Money rules the world. Wisdom and compassion have left the room.

[bjlyon]

The large-scale dumping of fertilizers, especially those containing iron for ocean fertilization, can have adverse effects on marine ecosystems. Excessive nutrient input may lead to harmful algal blooms and oxygen depletion, causing “dead zones” where marine life struggles to survive.

[SamWilkinsonn]

Peter is awesome. I've noticed that in the past he was always telling extremely important and profound information, however in a way of talking that didn't reflect the importance of what he was saying. Recently however he's become really emotive and it does make a huge difference, it instils a feeling of just how serious it is. Just thought I'd give some positive feedback Peter, it's been a great improvement, as many are only receptive to that kind of communication no matter how serious the content is.

Edit: I also loved your discussion with Roger Hallam a while back. He's a legend also. It was a good combo with you being the expert in facts, and him with the social expertise.

[EmeraldView]

I appreciate that people are still fighting.

I wish I could be more hopeful about it.

[OurPredicament]

we got a smart guy, a rich guy and a politician to say we can "restore the planet" so don't call it geoengineering anymore, OK?

[j.s.c.]

Can you imagine if we suddenly restored the climate of 1850? It would probably be the best thing for all of us, but it would feel like an ice age to 21st Century folks.

[OurPredicament]

"the only people against it are the scientists"😂😂😂

[anamariacarvalho]

Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes...remover The CO2 rigth now

[CitiesForTheFuture]

There IS a comprehensive climate mitigation project that began in 2001 & initiated in 2013 - Project Drawdown. It was developed by scientists. It has identified 100 projects to
- reduce GHG emissions
- enhance GHG drawdown

Top interventions include
- more enviro friendly refrigeration & management
- solar & wind
- forest restoration (altho more carbon stored in mangrove & kelp forests, seagrasses, peatlands & soils)
- more plant-based diet
- less food waste
- family planning
- education of women & girls, awa gender equity
- methane leak management
- restorative agriculture such as silvopasture

It's estimated that approx 80% of people will live in cities by 2050'ish - climate solutions MUST come from cities (cities must become less parasitic on its hinterlands).

According to a few marine experts ocean fertilization won't work due to the nature of the marine food chain (only less 1% of carbon captured will be sequested on the ocean floor; most of it will end up in the ocean biomass). There is a second option that will work - I forget its name though.

Climate solutions are required in almost every aspect of human activities but mostly in relation to electrification awa agriculture.

We understand the ecological, biodiversity & climate crisis is terms of physics & chemistry, but these are a result of human world views & decision-making i.e. the purview of the social sciences.

Solutions exist right now that can decarbonise over 90% of human systems with scientists working hard to decarbonise more tricky activities - such as some critical industrial & manufacturing processes & long distance transport & freight. While the solutions are available, the political & economic will to transform our society is not - too many vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Instead of working together we are competing to a few people can get filthy rich - humans have not learned their lesson from past mistakes.

[johnthomasriley]

The key to showing love for the oceans is to monitor everything done. Let’s modify hundreds of pleasure vessels to take ground truth . Called the Iron Seas Fleet in my books. The lead boat should be Tally Ho.❤

[Alex_Plante]

Too much fertilization in the wrong place at the wrong time can cause eutrophication, i.e., the depletion of oxygen in the water. We need to first do testing and careful measurement of the results so as to determine the dosage, timing and placing that has net positive results.

[OurPredicament]

how the heck would turning the ocean bright green help with fisheries? This whole video has William Catton just spinning in his grave

[anamariacarvalho]

Marine planos tô clean The oceano tô save The coral....

[michaelschiessl]

Many thanks Regina, Paul, Peter and Peter for this great informative report...

[anthonydavies]

How good to believe there is hope for the future of the planet! I do not, however, in Peter's vison hear anything about changing the way we live i.e. learning to live sustainably. If the funding for his project comes from the most wealthy, who are also those who are most responsible for the climate emergency, , are we not putting the lunatics in charge of the asylum? Even if they could "fix the Earth" would they have a vested interest to modify their unsustainable lifestyles? Better to say: let all of mankind contribute: let the technology and the knowledge be freely available to all (no patenting); ensure all peoples and countries are included in the decision making (why should the US be assumed to lead the effort - aren't there brilliant scientists in Russia for instance?). Honestly the UN seems to be the obvious body to oversee such a project (why reinvent the wheel?). Thought provoking discussion but I remain concerned that the very country that led us down the free market all-out consumption road to climate catastrophe can be trusted to disinterestedly lead us on the straight and narrow pathway away from it now...Perhaps a follow-up discussion on the ethics of this should follow?

[flamegarden]

This is a fantastic framework and proposal. It is heartening.

I have to say that as someone whose entire life has been for restoring peace and nature, I find it distressing that Paul is advocating for literal Trumpian GLOCK war language in this discussion for adoption in all of these scientific fields. I would *seriously* advise against it.

[jdcjr]

Thank you very much for helping to see the path forward in equilibrium-seeking.

[davidwalker]

43:49 Reference: the book "Sea of Slaughter" by Canadian author Farley Mowat.

[justcollapse]

Hmmm... the 1st 'problem' with this 'solution' is that it does not identify and address the predicament of #overshoot from which the symptom of climate change derives. Treating an isolated symptom in isolation from its root cause produces maladaptive responses which exacerbate and compound our predicament.
The 2nd problem is success. What if this effort succeeded? If success look in this case looks like the ability to maintain overshoot then the human enterprise will continue to draw down carrying capacity for all species further accelerating our #SixthMassExtinction event. How is this a 'solution' to anything? :/