Solar geoengineering

IN the battle against climate change, ideas don’t come much bigger than “solar geoengineering” or solar radiation management (SRM), where particles are sprayed into the atmosphere to mimic the world-chilling effects of huge volcanic eruptions.

The idea is backed by tech billionaire Bill Gates, who financed a large Harvard study into the feasibility of flying jets more than 10 miles up to release carbonate dust (like after a Chilean volcanic eruption in 2015, right), which cools the planet.

But scientists warn that solar geoengineering could spark “termination shock” where temperatures rebound rapidly, causing uncontrolled climate change and unpredictable extreme weather effects.

Earlier this year, a group of 60 scientists signed an open letter published in the journal WIREs Climate Change calling for an international agreement to avoid solar geoengineering technology.

“Governments and the United Nations need to take effective political control and restrict the development of solar geoengineering technologies before it is too late,” it stated.