The dumping in July 2012 of 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean by a private company, in an effort to stimulate phytoplankton growth, has exposed the limitations of current legislation on efforts to alter the Earth's systems, known as 'geoengineering'. Though such technologies could play an important part in global efforts against climate change, the lack of a legal or regulatory framework is hampering responsible scientific research into geoengineering, while allowing 'rogue' research to proceed.