UK Government About To Approve Experiments To Dim The Sun

In a bid to fight global warming, experiments to dim the sunlight will be given the green light by the UK government in a matter of weeks.

Outdoor trials could include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere or brightening clouds to reflect sunshine. Scientists say they are considering this as a way to prevent what they describe as ‘runaway climate change’

The Government’s advanced research and invention funding agency, ARIA, has set aside £50 million for projects, which are due to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Telegraph reports: Prof Mark Symes, the programme director for Aria (Advanced Research and Invention Agency), said there would be “small controlled outdoor experiments on particular approaches”.

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“We will be announcing who we have given funding to in a few weeks and when we do so we will be making clear when any outdoor experiments might be taking place,” he said.

“One of the missing pieces in this debate was physical data from the real world. Models can only tell us so much.

“Everything we do is going to be safe by design. We’re absolutely committed to responsible research, including responsible outdoor research.

“We have strong requirements around the length of time experiments can run for and their reversibility and we won’t be funding the release of any toxic substances to the environment.”

Geoengineering projects which seek to artificially alter the climate have proven controversial, with critics arguing they could bring damaging knock-on effects, as well as being an unhelpful distraction from lowering emissions.

However, scientists are increasingly concerned that carbon dioxide levels are not falling fast enough and that further action may be needed to prevent catastrophic warming.

“We will be announcing who we have given funding to in a few weeks and when we do so we will be making clear when any outdoor experiments might be taking place,” he said.

However, scientists are increasingly concerned that carbon dioxide levels are not falling fast enough and that further action may be needed to prevent catastrophic warming.

One major area of research is Sunlight Reflection Methods (SRM), which includes Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) whereby tiny particles are released into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight.

Another potential solution is Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) in which ships would spray sea-salt particles into the sky to enhance the reflectivity of low-lying clouds.