Can Geoengineering Stop Global Warming?
- Geoengineering experiments like cloud brightening and sulfur dioxide injection are being explored to cool the planet.
- These technologies raise concerns about unintended consequences and could discourage necessary decarbonization.
- International regulations and standards are needed before large-scale geoengineering is deployed.
This year, a trial is being run to see if using technology to deflect the sun could help cool the planet. Meanwhile, another scientist hopes to spray sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to reduce global temperatures. These are just some of the innovative trials taking place to curb the effects of global warming until greater decarbonization is seen. The question now is whether these geoengineering, delay-oriented technologies will have a significant effect on global warming, as a mid-term control measure, or whether they present a major risk to a meaningful green transition.
Geoengineering refers to deliberate, large-scale interventions in Earth's natural systems to counteract climate change or mitigate its effects. These interventions are typically split into two groups, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM). The CDR approach focuses on removing carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere, using technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies and ocean geoengineering, as well as afforestation activities. Meanwhile, SRM uses technologies to reflect a portion of the sun's energy away from Earth, aimed at lowering the Earth’s temperature.
In April, scientists from the University of Washington conducted the first outdoor SRM technology test in the U.S. The trial, in San Francisco Bay, saw a machine expel a fine mist of tiny aerosol particles hundreds of feet in the air, across the flight deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier. The aim was to create the correct size salt aerosols in an open-air environment to achieve cloud brightening – changing the composition of the clouds above the world’s oceans – to temporarily reduce the temperature on Earth.
This is not the only SRM experiment taking place, as many other scientists and institutions strive to delay the impact of global warming until meaningful decarbonization takes place. David Keith, who leads a Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago, believes he can help reduce the Earth’s temperature by using sulfur dioxide. Keith cites the global cooling effects of the sulfur dioxide spewed out by volcanoes as the impetus for his experiment. In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines released 17 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, which reflected sunlight away from the Earth. This created a decrease in average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere by roughly one degree Fahrenheit in the following year. Keith now believes that a similar reaction can be achieved artificially to help delay global warming.
Unlike the localized San Francisco Bay experiment, Keith’s approach would not be limited to a specific area, rather, it would be used in the stratosphere, which could influence the temperature worldwide. While this could provide an effective means of lowering global temperatures, scientists are uncertain of the knock-on effects on weather systems around the globe. Further, the sulfur dioxide being pumped into the stratosphere would eventually fall to earth, which could cause respiratory problems. David Suzuki, a Canadian environmentalist, suggested, “The whole notion of spraying sulphur compounds to reflect sunlight is arrogant and simplistic… There are unintended consequences of powerful technologies like these, and we have no idea what they will be.”
Many scientists are now using geoengineering technologies to curb the effects of global warming to buy time while governments attempt to decarbonize their economies. However, there is widespread criticism over the use of SMR technologies, due to concerns about artificially altering the Earth’s temperature, as well as discouraging the decarbonization that ultimately needs to take place. Similar criticism has been seen over the use of CCS technologies, which, it is argued, give oil and gas companies an excuse to keep pumping fossil fuels for longer.
Nevertheless, SMR and CCS technologies are receiving huge amounts of funding from private companies and governments worldwide. The White House has pumped billions into various geoengineering and CCS in recent years, and several other political leaders around the globe are doing the same. However, some regions of the world are approaching geoengineering with caution. The EU called for a thorough analysis of the risks of geoengineering last year, suggesting that international regulations should be established for the eventual deployment of the technology.
While there is great optimism around the possible success of SMR technologies, there are major concerns about their potential impact on the world’s weather systems. Localized SMR systems are unlikely to be very harmful, but they could lead the way to more advanced geoengineering systems being used on a larger scale. This suggests the need for the creation of international standards and regulations for the geoengineering industry before an experiment is allowed to take place that may have an impact on global weather systems. It is also important that governments do not allow these types of technologies to detract from long-term decarbonization efforts, by allowing companies to ignore pressure to support a meaningful green transition.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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