It’s time to begin reflecting sunlight back into space says UN

A separate report published on Monday, authored by UNEP’s Govindasamy Bala and eight independent experts, claimed that solar radiation management is ‘the only option that could cool the planet within years,’ while conceding that indefinite maintenance would cost of tens of billions a year per 1C cooling.

‘Climate change is taking the world into uncharted lands, and the search is on for all viable solutions,’ said Andrea Hinwood, UNEP chief scientist. ‘However, all new technologies must be clearly understood, and potential risks or impacts identified before being put into use’.

In terms of what such projects could look like in practice, Thred has already covered ‘cloud brightening,’ the process of spraying ocean salt vapour into clouds to reflect sunlight away from vulnerable Arctic regions, and potentially using plumes of moon dust at the Earth’s first Langrage point to scatter photons off into the universe.

The most logistically feasible method at this avenue is spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere from plentiful sources such as sulphur. Even then, though, the idea is ‘fraught with scientific uncertainties and ethical issues’.

Scientists have yet to eliminate concerns surrounding a long list of potential dangers, such as damage to our ozone layer and ‘termination shock’ whereby spraying particles into the atmosphere could unleash a concentrated burst of dormant global heating. Suffice to say, we need more research before proceeding.

In the present, one can imagine that talk of far-off technology and questionable research is music to the ears of the world’s biggest polluting companies and governments. While we await any scientific breakthroughs to come, however, the reality is that radical systemic change is needed now to begin healing.