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nationalacademies.org
article
https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/12782/chapter/19
In this chapter, we briefly review what is known about proposed solar radiation management (SRM) approaches and related governance and ethical issues and conclude with a discussion of the research needed to better understand SRM. For use of SRM as a potential “backstop option” in the case of an emerging “climate emergency,” improved observations and understanding of climate system thresholds, reversibility, and abrupt changes (see Chapter 6)—for example, observations to let us know when an ice sheet or methane hydrate field may become unstable (e.g., Khvorostyanov et al., 2008; Shakhova et al., 2010)—could inform societal debate and decision making about needs for deployment of a climate intervention system. There is, however, additional research that would be needed to support full evaluation of SRM approaches (just as there is with other options for limiting the magnitude of future climate change), including a variety of social, ecological, and physical sciences (see Chapter 4).
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royalsociety.org
news
https://royalsociety.org/news/2025/11/solar-radiation-modification/
Techniques to reflect an additional small portion of sunlight back into space could help cool the planet if deployed globally, but they
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un.org
article
https://www.un.org/scientific-advisory-board/en/solar-radiation-modification
This Science Brief discusses Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), or solar geoengineering, which are technologies aimed at cooling the planet by reflecting
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nae.edu
research
http://www.nae.edu/19579/19582/21020/228883/228936/Benefits-and-Risks-of-Stra…
Volcanic stratospheric clouds are produced by injections of SO2, so that might be the gas of choice, but some have suggested H2SO4 to reduce growth of aerosol particles (e.g., Pierce et al. Outdoor research, which involves injecting salt particles into marine clouds or various substances into the stratosphere, requires governance, including review of potential environmental impacts, monitoring of the experiments, and sanctions if the researchers break the rules (e.g., Shepherd et al. It includes the Geoengineering Model Inter-comparison Project (GeoMIP), in which 19 climate modeling groups have simulated how the climate would respond to reduced insolation, creation of a stratospheric aerosol cloud, or brightened marine clouds to reduce climate change from various global warming scenarios. Future research is planned with scenarios that might involve credible deployments, such as balancing overshoot scenarios to keep global warming at less than 1.5–2.0 K above preindustrial temperatures (e.g., Tilmes et al. Research shows that it may be possible to control regional climates (e.g., Tilmes et al.
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climate.gov
official
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/solar-radiation-m…
**Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth.** Proposed SRM methods involve the use of aerosols (small particles) or other materials to increase the reflectivity of the atmosphere, clouds, or Earth’s surface. **Long-term protection of Earth’s climate and oceans requires substantial reductions in emissions and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other GHGs. SRM is not considered a substitute for climate mitigation efforts, which include decarbonization and GHG emission cuts.** SRM research is being conducted as a response to growing concerns that the pace of CO2 emissions reductions and CDR technology development is not sufficient to avoid severe impacts of climate change in the next decades. **Many of the processes most important for understanding SRM approaches—such as those that control the formation of clouds and aerosols—are among the most uncertain components of the climate system.** Climate models differ in simulating large-scale aerosol climate effects, including on surface temperatures, due to variations in how aerosol processes, atmospheric transport and mixing, and physics are represented.
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congress.gov
official
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47551
SG methods seek to offset global warming by either reducing the amount of energy coming into the system from the sun, or increasing the amount
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carbonbrief.org
article
https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-six-ideas-to-limit-global-warming-with-…
However, research shows that using solar geoengineering could indirectly lower the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by stemming permafrost melt, reducing energy-sector emissions and causing changes to the carbon-cycle feedback. Aerosol injection could have an edge on other proposed forms of solar geoengineering because it would not require a large technological leap to become a reality, Jones says:. These brighter clouds would reflect away more sunlight, says Prof Douglas MacMartin, an engineering researcher from Cornell University, who contributed to the US House of Representatives’ hearing on geoengineering. Earlier this month, MacMartin, Keith and Prof Katharine Ricke, a climate scientist from the University of California, San Diego, published a research paper exploring how solar geoengineering – via releasing aerosols into the stratosphere – could be used as part of an “overall strategy” for limiting global warming to 1.5C, which is the aspirational target of the Paris Agreement. However, the researchers point out that using solar geoengineering to hold global warming to 1.5C would not have the same environmental effect as reaching the target using mitigation.
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salatainstitute.harvard.edu
research
https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/research-initiatives/the-harvard-solar-ge…
The Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP) aims to reduce uncertainties surrounding solar geoengineering; generate critical science, technology, and policy insights; and help inform the public debate surrounding this controversial idea. Recognizing that solar geoengineering could not be a replacement for reducing emissions or adapting to climate impacts, SGRP draws on Harvard’s research capabilities and global convening power to provide the knowledge necessary in considering solar geoengineering as a supplement to broader mitigation and adaptation efforts. The Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP) aims to reduce uncertainties surrounding solar geoengineering; generate critical science, technology, and policy insights; and help inform the public debate surrounding this controversial idea. Recognizing that solar geoengineering could not be a replacement for reducing emissions or adapting to climate impacts, SGRP draws on Harvard’s research capabilities and global convening power to provide the knowledge necessary in considering solar geoengineering as a supplement to broader mitigation and adaptation efforts. * In 1980, Professor Tom Schelling chaired a National Academy of Sciences committee whose report, *Changing Climate*, addressed the potential for solar geoengineering to counter global warming.