Latest news with #ExploringClimateCooling
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Science
- Business Standard
Plan B for the planet depends on oversight, not technology alone
Not too long ago, the idea of cooling Earth by bouncing sunlight back into space would have seemed like a fringe fantasy — equal parts sci-fi and geopolitical taboo. These days, it's inching into the heart of serious climate conversations. This is no coincidence. Climate forecasts, once laden with caveats, are now sounding more like sirens. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that global temperatures could rise as much as 2°C above pre-industrial levels in the next five years, breaching a climate red line. At that mark, we're looking at shrinking crop yields, collapsing ecosystems, and more than a third of the global population potentially exposed to extreme heat. In this climate of urgency, Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), a subfield of solar geoengineering, is garnering attention. The concept is simple: Reflect a small portion of sunlight back into space to artificially cool the planet. The methods vary wildly — from injecting sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to spreading reflective glass particles over Arctic ice. Elegant in theory but risky in practice. Tinker with the global thermostat to cool one region, and you might cause drought in another. The models are incomplete, risks planetary, and governance nearly absent. Still, money is flowing in. According to SRM360, a non-profit tracking developments in the field, funding between 2020 and 2024 reached $112.1 million — over 3x the $34.9 million spent between 2010 and 2014. And the momentum isn't slowing: $164.7 million has already been committed for the next phase, from 2025 through 2029. A key player in this new wave is the UK's Advanced Research and Innovation Agency (ARIA), which has pledged roughly $80 million towards real-world SRM experiments. Its 'Exploring Climate Cooling' initiative is pushing boundaries: Researchers under the programme aim to test whether they can thicken Arctic ice, brighten marine clouds, or even simulate the effects of orbital mirrors. Mark Symes, ARIA's programme director, put it bluntly in a recent BBC interview: 'There is a critical missing gap in our knowledge on the feasibility and impacts of SRM, and to fill that gap requires real-world outdoor experiments.' But that approach carries reputational risks. Over the past decade, several respected institutions— including Harvard and a UK university consortium involving Oxford — have launched SRM projects, only to pause or cancel them in the face of political backlash and scientific hesitation. But not everyone is waiting for academic approval. Since 2017, the Arctic Ice Project — a privately run effort — has scattered tiny reflective glass beads across 17,500 square metres of Arctic sea ice. The move drew protests from Native Alaskan leaders. It now hopes to scale up its deployment across 100,000 square kilometres. Then there's the do-it-yourself crowd. In 2022, a British independent researcher launched a weather balloon that released sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, dubbing the project SATAN — Stratospheric Aerosol Transport and Nucleation. Around the same time, Silicon Valley-backed startup Make Sunsets began launching similar balloons while planning to sell 'cooling credits' to fund the operation. Critics argue that such experiments, if conducted without rigorous review, may violate international environmental laws, including the 1985 Vienna Convention, which protects the ozone layer. Some participants point to a lack of national regulation as justification. That legal vacuum, however, doesn't equal a green light. SRM360 has also flagged $1.1 million in anonymous donations to SRM efforts, raising concerns about transparency in a field with potential global consequences. And then, there's the spectre that haunts every SRM debate: Fossil fuel interests. Critics worry that solar geoengineering could offer a convenient excuse to avoid the harder — and more politically painful — task of cutting emissions.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Miliband says Reforms claims of blocking sun are ‘conspiracy theories gone mad'
Ed Miliband has criticised 'conspiracy theories gone mad' as Reform MPs accused him of wanting to 'block out the sunshine'. The Energy Secretary urged opposition members to keep their 'eyes on the prize' as he said that 'clean homegrown power' is the only way for the UK to 'take back control of its energy market'. The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) has announced plans to research ways of artificially cooling the earth as a short-term combatant of global warming. Aria, a Government agency, is backed by £56.8 million, and its programme Exploring Climate Cooling will explore whether approaches designed to delay, or avert, climate tipping points could be 'feasible, scalable, and safe'. The study will aim to carry out 'small, controlled, geographically confined outdoor experiments on approaches that may one day scale to help reduce global temperatures', referring to a number of proposed methods such as 'increasing the reflectivity of the Earth's surface (eg by re-growing ice sheets) and constructing space-based reflectors to shade the Earth from a proportion of incoming sunlight'. During energy questions in the Commons, Reform UK MP Lee Anderson (Ashfield) said: 'The Secretary of State thinks it's a good idea to fill our fields with solar panels at the cost of billions of pounds to the British taxpayer. 'I hate to break it to him, but the solar panels rely on sunshine, so why is he supporting now a project to block out the sunshine?' Mr Miliband replied: '(Mr Anderson) never ceases to amaze me, and not in a good way. 'What I would say to him is this, and this is where they've made their decision, I'm not sure what their position is, which is cheap, clean, home grown, power is the answer for Britain because it gives us energy security, frees us from the petrol states and dictators. 'We're in favour of it, they're against it, goodness knows where (the Conservatives) are.' Reform MP for (South Basildon and East Thurrock) James McMurdock also accused Mr Miliband of having a plan to 'block out the sun', while DUP MP (East Antrim) Sammy Wilson said the Energy Secretary wanted to 'put black dust on clouds to block the sun'. Responding to Mr Wilson, Mr Miliband said: 'This is like conspiracy theories gone mad. I mean, I feel like we've entered the sort of wacky world here. 'I mean let us just focus, keep our eyes on the prize here. We are vulnerable as a country because of our exposure to fossil fuels. 'This Government has one mission, and one mission alone: that's clean homegrown power so we take back control.' Elsewhere in the session, the Tories warned that British families will face higher bills if the Government 'sell out' and align the UK's carbon pricing with Europe's. Speaking from the Conservative frontbench, Nick Timothy asked the Government to 'rule out aligning the British carbon price with the European one'. Energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said the Government is 'engaging with industry on this question' and alignment is something that the sector supports, adding: 'We are looking at this, but the critical point I will make is that ultimately we are doing everything that we can do to bear down on energy costs in this country.' Mr Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, then said: 'I think we're getting closer to them admitting their 'secret plan'. As soon as the local elections are done, Labour are going to sell out to Europe, and the result will be higher bills for British families. 'But there is more, the EU is expanding carbon pricing to include transport and heating emissions too, alignment with the expanded scheme means extra taxes on every British family to drive their cars and heat their homes. 'So will the minister rule out aligning at least with the expanded scheme, and say no new taxes on everyday life?' Ms Fahnbulleh described Mr Timothy's comments as 'absolute nonsense', adding: 'It's a Conservative Party scare story.'
