As the latest round of United Nations climate negotiations began in Durban, South Africa, expectations could scarcely have been lower. A globally binding deal is further away than ever. That makes considerable warming from climate change inevitable.

Phil Macnaghten and Richard Owen describe the first attempt to govern a climate-engineering research project.

A string of technologies that could be used to engineer our environment to head off climate change are being field-tested.

As co-chair of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), I would like to clarify your misleading implication that I recommend geoengineering as an option for attaining ambitious climate targets (Nature 468, 13

Geoengineering is a proposed action to manipulate Earth

The agreement at the UN Convention on Biodiversity appeared to outlaw geoengineering

Moratorium on schemes to reduce global warming clashes with reports urging more research.

Aerosols could be injected into the upper atmosphere to engineer the climate by scattering incident sunlight so as to produce a cooling tendency that may mitigate the risks posed by the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Analysis of climate engineering has focused on sulfate aerosols.

Geoengineering has been proposed as a feasible way of mitigating anthropogenic climate change, especially increasing global temperatures in the 21st century. The two main geoengineering options are limiting incoming solar radiation, or modifying the carbon cycle.