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March 29, 2025
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July 27, 2026
Published
July 29, 2026
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Abstract

Geoengineering is considered a potential scientific technique involving carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management, aimed at manipulating Earth's climate to mitigate the effects of global climate change. However, despite the potential of geoengineering, there are several legal, environmental, socio-economic, and ethical issues associated with its reliance. Concerning this, the aim is to evaluate geoengineering as an option for mitigating climate change while critiquing legal deficiencies and proposing policy measures for its regulation. Hence, the study adopts a doctrinal method, relying on primary and secondary research materials such as international law, scholarly articles by learned authors, and other relevant sources. A descriptive and analytical style was adopted in analysing the data obtained from the research sources. The findings reveal that the scientific concept of geoengineering is quite promising in mitigating the impacts of climate change through carbon emissions and the management of solar radiation. However, there seems to be a lack of clear legal regulation, leading to a lack of oversight of geoengineering activities, uncertainty about liability for environmental harm, and cross-border issues. Furthermore, developing countries may also face the challenges of adapting to new scientific concepts, given the technical and scientific skills involved, and the inability to fund the geoengineering project. The study agrees that geoengineering has the potential to curtail climate change but concludes that its legal, ethical, and socio-economic challenges should be addressed by the international community through an effective legal framework and the provision of financial aid to developing countries to ensure the responsible application of geoengineering in climate change mitigation.

Keywords

Geoengineering Climate Change Environment

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Copyright (c) 2026 Mukhlish Mukhlish, Paul Atagamen Aidonojie, Muwaffiq Jufri, Mundu M. Mustafa , Esther Chetachukwu Aidonojie

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How to Cite
Mukhlish, M., Aidonojie, P. A., Jufri, M., Mustafa , M. M., & Aidonojie, E. C. (2026). The Potential Legal Issues, and Challenges of Utilising Geoengineering in Climate Change Mitigation. Prophetic Law Review, 131–152. https://doi.org/10.20885/PLR.vol8.iss1.art6
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