Can we artificially cool the planet? A major environmental group is spending millions to find out

A leading environmental group is reportedly investing millions of dollars in research into solar geoengineering, a proposed solution to climate change that has been met with skepticism and concerns about unintended consequences.

Solar geoengineering involves a number of strategies to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight, perhaps by artificially brightening clouds or pushing reflective particles into the atmosphere. Rogue efforts to test these theories have raised concerns because scientists don’t know much about what other effects they might have. This calls for more research to close those knowledge gaps before further tests can proceed.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) plans to award “millions of dollars” in grants for solar geoengineering research, the new York Times Reports. EDF states Verge It shares their concerns about solar geoengineering, which is why it is supporting studies on its potential consequences.

“We are deeply concerned about the unintended consequences of this [solar geoengineering]“That’s why we are focused on policy-relevant research that will help estimate potential impacts and develop the policy-relevant science needed to help governments make informed decisions,” Lisa Dilling, EDF’s associate chief scientist, said in an email.

EDF declined to say how much money it would invest in the solar geoengineering studies. However, it also declined to say who its funders are for the initiative. the new York Times The LAD Climate Fund is named as a donor – led by partners serving in leadership roles at Cisco Systems.

Dilling says next steps include working with scientists to “develop a research agenda with a near-term focus on impacts” and creating a “governance structure.” After these safeguards are in place, EDF plans to award research projects that are expected to share their results in journals and at conferences.

heated conversation In March the UN Environment Assembly failed to issue new international guidelines for solar geoengineering. Since 2010, an old global regulation has been in place Stoppage On certain types of large-scale geoengineering. The language is vague, excluding small-scale experiments that have been pursued in recent years.

Last week, a man in Alameda, California, said he was from a poor family. voted to stop Scientists at the University of Washington are testing a new technique for sprinkling sea salt particles. This is an experiment that is testing a new technique for sprinkling sea salt particles. Strategy to make clouds more reflective More than 30 scientists have participated in this study named Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB). paper In the journal Progress of science in March A research roadmap for MCB was proposed.

“Interest in MCBs is growing, but policymakers currently do not have the information they need to make informed decisions about if and when MCBs should be deployed,” lead author Graham Feingold, a researcher at NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory, said in a report. Press release those days.

Last year a less scientific solar geoengineering organization was heavily criticized. Mexico taken to the bar After a geoengineering startup launched weather balloons filled with sulfur dioxide within its borders, the co-founders closed shop and Tried again in Nevada, Grilling Fungicides To generate sulfur dioxide gas in a parking lot.

As a PollutantsSulfur dioxide can cause acid rain. Sending reflective particles into the atmosphere, called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), can also cause acid rain. Widening Antarctica’s ozone holeThese are some of the reasons experts are concerned about moving forward with solar geoengineering without a better understanding of the potential consequences.

And finally, environmental advocates want to make sure that solar geoengineering doesn’t hinder efforts to transition to clean energy — which is the only way to get a real grip on climate change.

“Tackling climate change requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible. This remains EDF’s top priority,” says EDF’s Dilling.