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TOP 10 SRM UPDATES FROM AUGUST 2026
UNEP Report Leaves SRM Out of Overshoot Discussion
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a new report titled Limiting Overshoot, warning that global warming will likely exceed 1.5°C within the next few years. Even an optimistic pathway projects a 1.8°C peak, while higher-emissions pathways exceed 2°C. UNEP calls for rapid emissions cuts, adaptation and expanded carbon dioxide removal to limit the magnitude and duration of overshoot, but the 126-page report does not discuss solar radiation modification at all. It also argues that governance capacity must be built before peak warming, when political space for difficult decisions could narrow.
Against this backdrop, Michael Thompson of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering (DSG) questioned why this governance principle does not extend to SRM in the report, noting that UNEP’s 2023 One Atmosphere assessment identified SRM as a potential way of “shaving the peak” while highlighting major risks and governance challenges. He argued that even if SRM is ultimately rejected, its risks, governance and implications should be considered before crisis conditions emerge.
Cornell researchers Daniele Visioni and Douglas MacMartin also highlighted the omission. Visioni called for serious discussion of a broader portfolio of interventions and their governance, while MacMartin said society should not wait for catastrophic impacts before building the knowledge needed to assess SRM.
Elon Musk Says Large-Scale Geoengineering May Be Needed to Address Climate Risks
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has recently tweeted that switching to sustainable energy alone may not be sufficient to address future climate and extinction risks, suggesting that space-based solar geoengineering and other large-scale geoengineering could eventually be needed. Musk proposed sentient satellites, launched into Earth–Sun Lagrange points by mass drivers on the Moon, to control global temperatures, while saying humanity has roughly 50 years to act on rising sea levels. He also tweeted a Grok-generated analysis suggesting that about 5% of Florida’s land could be affected by sea-level rise by around 2070 under a high-rise scenario.
| | Extremely severe extinction events happen every 100M years or so and just switching to sustainable energy will not be enough to stop them. Space satellites to control temperature and massive geo-engineering will be needed or it will be game over. grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5… | |  | | Elon Musk @elonmusk |
| | @xenocosmography And that is, of course, how it will be done. Sentient satellites, launched into Earth-Sun Lagrange points by mass drivers on the Moon, can solve global warming for ~1B years. |
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| | 3:00 PM · Aug 30, 2026 · 30.3M Views 7.3K Replies · 6.99K Reposts · 58.8K Likes |
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Arctic Stabilization Initiative Launches $5.5M Fund for Arctic Climate Intervention Research
The Arctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI) announced $5.5 million in research funding to develop modelling and observational capabilities for evaluating targeted climate interventions in the rapidly warming Arctic. ASI says current models and observations are insufficient to assess whether such interventions could work or what physical risks they might pose. Its first research focus is mixed-phase cloud thinning (MCT), an SRM approach that aims to thin heat-trapping Arctic clouds and potentially reduce regional warming. The funding will support 8-10 awards of $400,000-$1.1 million each, with projects lasting 18-24 months. Expressions of interest are due September 16.
Yale Report Examines How Geoengineering Could Upend Climate Economics
Yale SOM’s Kelly Shue and Boston College’s Samuel Hartzmark released a report examining how large-scale solar radiation modification could alter the economics of climate change, including incentives for fossil fuels, renewable energy and carbon dioxide removal.
The authors find that SRM could initially increase the value of fossil-fuel companies while reducing incentives to invest in renewables and CDR, as artificial cooling would lessen the immediate economic costs of emissions. However, termination risk and the buildup of “ecological debt” - the gap between actual warming and artificially suppressed temperatures - could eventually increase the value of renewables and CDR.
The researchers also found that SRM could initially reduce incentives to develop CDR, potentially delaying innovation. Under their baseline assumptions, SRM produces a slight net welfare benefit, but this advantage disappears if deployment begins after carbon levels become dangerously high or if SRM is interrupted before alternative climate technologies mature.
Degrees Global Forum on SRM to Take Place in Istanbul in August 2027
The Degrees Initiative has announced the next Degrees Global Forum on solar radiation modification, which will take place in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 16-20 August 2027. The Forum will bring together researchers, policymakers, civil-society representatives and other stakeholders and will again be held alongside the annual Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) meeting. Session submissions open in September 2026, with registration opening and session submissions closing in October.
FAS Argues Against Banning Geoengineering Research Over Conspiracy Theories
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) argued that conspiracy theories and misinformation should not drive bans on geoengineering and SRM research. It notes that 29 U.S. states introduced 70 bills during the latest legislative session seeking to restrict geoengineering, SRM and/or weather modification, but only one became law. FAS argues that research bans could create knowledge gaps, limit understanding of potential health and environmental risks, and hinder innovation.
It calls instead for transparent oversight, accountability and public engagement, particularly as research moves toward outdoor experiments. The article also notes that SRM360 tracks just 14 outdoor climate-intervention experiments from 2008-2028, only three of which have been completed, challenging claims that widespread experimentation is already taking place.
Study Examines Potential Suicide Impacts of Solar Radiation Management
Shinsuke Tanaka and Tetsuya Matsubayashi examined the potential suicide impacts of solar radiation management using nearly three decades of U.S. county-level data. They find that sustained reductions in sunlight significantly increase suicide rates, while temperature effects are weaker. Under a 1.5°C SRM scenario, they estimate around 3,810 additional U.S. suicides between 2030 and 2100 from reduced sunlight alone, rising to 16,320 when temperature effects are included. The lead author also discussed the findings on the Reviewer 2 Does Geoengineering podcast.
Climate Denialism Shapes Conservative Views on Solar Geoengineering
An international survey of 4,374 people across 13 North American and Western European countries investigated whether people with more conservative political views are less supportive of solar geoengineering because of their political ideology itself or because they are more likely to deny or downplay climate change. Respondents were asked about stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening (MCB) and space-based geoengineering (SBG).
Conservative respondents were generally less supportive of all three technologies, but climate denialism explained much of this relationship, accounting for 50–58% of the association for SAI and SBG. Once climate denialism was taken into account, conservatism was no longer associated with lower support for SAI and SBG and was linked to greater support for some technologies in some countries.
MCB was different, with conservatism retaining an independent association with support even after accounting for climate denialism. Overall, the findings show that the relationship between political conservatism and support for solar geoengineering varies by technology and country rather than following a single pattern.
SINTEF Report Urges Caution on Solar Radiation Modification
SINTEF report, Beyond Emission Cuts: Can We Reverse the Climate Clock?, assessed CDR and SRM as potential climate responses. On SRM, the report stresses that the approach does not address the root cause of climate change and raises significant technical, ethical and governance concerns. It calls for transparent monitoring and emphasizes that deep cuts in fossil-fuel emissions must remain the top priority, with geoengineering considered only as a complement rather than a substitute for emissions reductions.
RFF and Harvard to Hold Fourth SRM Social Science Research Workshop
Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program will hold their fourth annual Social Science Research Workshop on Solar Radiation Modification on 10-11 September 2026 in Washington, DC.
The workshop will bring together researchers to examine the social, economic and political dimensions of SRM, with sessions covering economic cost of termination shock, public perceptions and decision-making, new directions in SRM, field-experiment governance, international relations and global perspectives. The event will also feature discussions on SRM research funding and the expanding role of Global South countries in SRM diplomacy.
For a full recap of last month’s updates, check out our weekly summaries: WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4
And here’s an overview:
RESEARCH PAPERS
Middle atmosphere chemical and dynamical effects in the CCMI-2022 stratospheric aerosol injection scenario | Authors: Andrin Jörimann, et al.
CCMI-2022 simulations found that SAI could reduce global ozone by up to ~10 DU while producing substantially different levels of tropical stratospheric heating across models, despite broadly consistent ozone-response patterns.
Assessing the stratospheric temperature response to volcanic sulfate injections by Mt. Pinatubo: insights from the Interactive Stratospheric Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project | Authors: Katharina Perny, et al.
Model experiments found that varying SO₂ injection amounts and altitudes can produce substantially different stratospheric temperature responses, with model differences in aerosol transport, microphysics and radiative processes driving major uncertainties.
Synchronizing climate intervention: On the infrastructural timing of expert foresight | Authors: J. Daniel Andersson, et al.
The analysis found that climate models and intercomparison projects can shape expectations about solar geoengineering by synchronizing scientific, technical and political timelines through modelling protocols, simulations and expert judgement.
Managing climate overshoot: a risk-based strategy for climate stabilisation | Authors: Graeme Taylor, et al.
The authors argue that climate strategies should weigh the risks of continued warming against those of cooling interventions, suggesting carefully governed cooling could complement rapid decarbonisation and carbon removal.
Changes in the Snow Cycle in the Northern Hemisphere: A Multimodel Analysis of Global Warming Scenarios and Climate Engineering | Authors: Shirin Ajabi & Abolfazl Rezaei
New climate modelling found that SAI could substantially limit projected declines in snow mass, cover and depth under severe warming, while residual changes show it cannot replace rapid emissions cuts.
Responses of precipitation extremes in the yellow river basin to solar radiation modification from GeoMIP6 multi-model ensembles | Authors: Chenglei Hou, et al.
The study found that SRM could reduce extreme precipitation and consecutive dry days in the Yellow River Basin, but may increase spatially uneven rainfall and erosion risks, particularly across the Loess Plateau.
Using the FRIDA Framework to Evaluate Endogenous Human-Climate Responses to Climate Intervention Scenarios | Authors: Mauricio Uriona Maldonado & Caroline Rodrigues Vaz
An integrated climate-systems model found that incorporating SAI can reproduce its intended cooling effect while highlighting the need to account for its feedbacks across economic, agricultural, land-use and other human-system components.
Clouding the mind? Assessing the suicide impacts of solar radiation management in the United States | Authors: Shinsuke Tanaka & Tetsuya Matsubayashi
Research found that sustained reductions in sunlight linked to SRM could increase suicide rates, with the study estimating thousands of additional U.S. suicides by 2100 under a 1.5°C SRM scenario.
The Potential Legal Issues, and Challenges of Utilising Geoengineering in Climate Change Mitigation | Authors: Mukhlish Mukhlish, et al.
The legal analysis found that geoengineering faces major regulatory gaps around oversight, liability and cross-border impacts, highlighting the need for stronger international governance and support for developing countries.
Earth’s dimming mirror: cloud contraction and the rise of albedo governance | Authors: Gianni Bellocchi, et al.
The study found that declining cloud cover is increasing the influence of surface albedo on solar absorption, suggesting albedo management could become an increasingly important complement to carbon management.
Potential Security Implications of Climate Intervention Technologies for NATO | Authors: Elizabeth Chalecki
The paper found that climate change is creating new security risks for NATO, while climate intervention could introduce militarization concerns and require new approaches to international security governance.
Unintended winter–early spring warming over North America caused by tropical and subtropical deployment of marine cloud brightening | Authors: Siyu Zhao, et al.
CESM simulations found that marine cloud brightening could cause regional winter warming in mid-eastern North America despite global cooling, with circulation changes potentially affecting snowpack and water resources.
Impacts of Solar Radiation Modification on Extreme Climate Indices in the Philippines | Authors: Patricia Ann A. Jaranilla-Sanchez, et al.
Climate projections found that the Philippines could face widespread warming and stronger extreme precipitation, while SRM responses vary regionally and may reduce some rainfall extremes in northern areas.
Extreme events as an inadequately explored measure of solar geoengineering performance | Authors: Kwesi A Quagraine, et al.
The analysis found that assessing solar geoengineering only by global temperature can overlook changes in climate extremes, underscoring the need to evaluate impacts on floods, heatwaves and droughts.
The changing shape of climate technofixes | Authors: Sean Low
The perspective argues that the evolving “climate technofix” is expanding from carbon management to solar geoengineering, AI and the space economy, driven by gaps in climate governance and requiring precautionary, cross-sectoral oversight.
Comparing stratospheric aerosol injection strategy optimization in CESM and UKESM | Authors: Ezra Brody, et al.
Model comparisons found substantial uncertainty in optimizing SAI injection latitudes, with CESM favoring lower latitudes and UKESM higher ones, although a four-latitude strategy performs reasonably well in both models.
Impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection geoengineering deployment and termination on extreme climate events in China | Authors: Haotian Zhang, et al.
Multi-model simulations found that sustained SAI could curb warming and some climate extremes across China, but its rapid termination could trigger a strong rebound in temperatures and extreme heat within 3–5 years.
Self-regulating subglacial hydrology undermines bed-drying interventions in East Antarctica | Authors: Yu Wang, et al.
Ice-sheet modeling found that subglacial water extraction may have little effect on slowing sea-level rise and could accelerate ice loss by increasing basal lubrication, highlighting risks from poorly designed bed-drying interventions.
Parallel and diverging responses across four earth system models in response to cirrus cloud thinning climate intervention experiment | Authors: William McFarlane Smith, et al.
Multi-model simulations found that cirrus cloud thinning could produce substantial global cooling, but divergent cloud, humidity and precipitation responses highlight major uncertainties in modelling the intervention.
Unveiling the Shortwave Absorption Spectra of Alumina Aerosols: Radiative Implications for Solar Radiation Modification | Authors: Taveen Singh Kapoor, et al.
New measurements found that alumina particles proposed for SAI absorb some sunlight, although climate modelling suggests this has little effect on radiative forcing or stratospheric warming.
Impacts of Sulfate Injection Geoengineering on Particulate Matter with Diameter less than 2.5 μm - Preprint | Authors: Lili Xia, et al.
Geoengineering Large Ensemble simulations found that sulfate aerosol geoengineering generally lowers global PM2.5 by reducing dust and sea-salt aerosols, but can increase secondary organic aerosols, highlighting complex implications for health and ecosystems.
Characterising the long-term effects of stratospheric aerosol injection geoengineering on the stratospheric ozone layer with mid-infrared limb emission sounding instruments - Preprint | Authors: Mona Kosary, et al.
Model simulations found that SAI could worsen Antarctic ozone depletion and delay recovery while increasing ozone at northern mid-to-high latitudes, with the changes potentially detectable by advanced satellite observations.
Extratropical Cyclone and Storm track Responses to Stratospheric Aerosol Injection in High-Resolution CESM Simulations - Preprint | Authors: Meike de Nooij, et al.
High-resolution CESM simulations found that SAI alters extratropical cyclone activity unevenly across regions, shifting storm tracks and reducing extreme precipitation, highlighting the need to assess regional weather impacts.
Planetary Cooling Pathways: Scientific Scenarios for Returning to a Stable Climate State - Preprint | Authors: Hunter Hughes
The report argues that net zero alone may not restore climate stability, proposing large-scale CDR alongside temporary SRM to limit peak warming and manage persistent climate risks.
AI for Climate Stabilization: Forecasting, Optimization, and Autonomous Mitigation Systems - Preprint | Authors: Hunter Hughes
The analysis presents AI as core climate infrastructure, spanning forecasting, energy systems, carbon removal and SRM safeguards, while estimating substantial future emissions-abatement potential.
Global and systematic stratospheric aerosol number and size distributions from the NOAA Balloon Baseline Stratospheric Aerosol Profiles (B2SAP) project - Preprint | Authors: Kate Smith, et al.
The B2SAP project is building a global in-situ record of stratospheric aerosols, providing data to improve climate-model aerosol representations and independently validate satellite observations.
Regional Solar Radiation Management Using Autonomously Assembled Space-Based Sunshade Arrays: A Conceptual Study for Ocean Heat Regulation - Preprint | Authors: Yingxiang Ye
Exploratory analysis suggests space-based solar radiation management over the Pacific could offset some excess heat uptake, but the enormous launch requirements and unresolved engineering, climate and governance challenges make deployment impractical with current technology.
Volcanic eruptions alter sky colours in a geoengineered world - Preprint | Authors: Anna Lange, et al.
Climate simulations found that a volcanic eruption during ongoing SAI could produce distinctive sky colours, including Bishop’s Rings, greenish twilight and purple light, but these effects showed little variation across SAI scenarios, months or latitudes.
Sunshades in Space Undertaking. A Cash-Flow-Contingent Framework for Financing a Global Public-Good Project - Preprint | Authors: Christer Persson, et al.
The proposed FiGo framework outlines a 50-year financing and governance model for developing Planetary Sunshades at Sun–Earth L1, using space-economy IP revenues to fund the capability while avoiding financial incentives for premature deployment.
WEB POSTS
The Overshoot Era - Stabilizing Interventions Are a Reference Class
The Degrees Initiative - Pakistan workshop seeks evidence-based understanding of emerging climate responses
Medscape - Solar Geoengineering: Climate Cure or Health Gamble?
The Spokesman Review - ‘Purity test,’ ‘spiritual war’ and geoengineering: Spokane County GOP approves new values statements
PJ Media - Climate Policies: Warming the Earth to Cool the Earth
UC Santa Cruz - Altering the atmosphere could fight climate change, but is it worth the risk? Who gets to decide?
Peter Dynes - The Accidental Sunshade - We have been pressing the accelerator and the brake at the same time
NBC News - When conspiracy theorists drive policy: The nationwide push to ban weather modification
ACIRHub - Ghana hosts Africa’s first technical workshop on Solar Radiation Modification
Science Literacy Project - Viewpoint: Is geo-engineering the ‘break glass in case of emergency’ solution to uncontrollable climate change—or manufactured fear
APP - CUI hosts international workshop on Solar Radiation Modification research, policy dialogue
Upon Further Reflection - A clinical trials framework for sunlight reflection research
WSJ Opinion - Europe’s Geoengineering Future?
WSJ Opinion - Geoengineering Will Save Us - Technology will thwart the doomsayers
LinkedIn - A priority research question: to what extent could SRM reduce global wind speeds?
Baselayer - What is Climate Repair?
LinkedIn - Two Bowls: Why SRM Depends on Institutional Resilience
SRM360 - Climate Models Suggest Amazon Forests Would Thrive Under SAI
The Conversation - Marine heatwaves are cooking our ocean ecosystems – and will only become more common
SRM360 - Would Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Disrupt the Monsoons?
Yale Insights - How Cooling the Planet with Geoengineering Would Upend Climate Economics
Lethbridge News - Fact File: Experts douse viral claim that wildfires caused by ‘weather manipulation’
Wave - US: Legal challenges to solar geoengineering
The iNews - Got climate anxiety? Meet the scientists working to cool our planet down
Planetary Sunshade Institute - Funding Landscape for Reducing, Removing and Reflecting
News Scientist - Could geoengineering ‘ice arches’ help preserve Arctic sea ice?
Green European Journal - A Feminist Approach to Solar Geoengineering
Mahabahu - India Climate Cooling Summit to Advance National Strategies
DSG - Community Engagement in Solar Radiation Modification: Lessons from Two Models
SRM360 - What Is El Niño and How Would SRM Affect It?
SRM360 - Cooling, Drying, and the Fine Print: Lessons on SRM From Tanzania
Yahoo - Conservative group preps lawsuits against solar geoengineering, reviving ‘chemtrails’ claim
Janos Pasztor - Keeping Cool in a Warming World
Clare Farrell - From binary to systems thinking on climate, before it’s too late
Jan Umsonst - A priority research question: to what extent could SRM reduce global wind speeds?
HPAC - Open Letter in Support of Applied-Science Testing and Piloting of Near-term Global Climate Cooling Approaches
William McFarlane - Thinning clouds to cool the planet - Explaining my recent paper on cirrus cloud thinning
Sintef - Can Geoengineering Turn Back the Doomsday Clock?
Peter Dynes - “The Third Pole Is Melting .... And the Planet Is Getting Darker
The Economic Times - ‘Part of Florida could be underwater in next 40 years’: Elon Musk says massive geoengineering may be needed or ‘it will be game over’ for humans
Share Solar Geoengineering Updates
REPORTS
SSRN - The Economics of Climate Stabilization
Samuel Hartzmark, Kelly Shue - The Geoengineering Put: Ecological Debt, Termination Risk, and Asset Prices
Cambridge University Press - Ethics and Planetary Boundaries
DEADLINES
Call for Applications - Gordon R. Sullivan Climate and Ecological Security Fellowship 2026-2027 | Deadline: 14 September 2026
“The programme will examine a broad range of emerging climate-security issues, including:
Food and water security
Climate-related migration
Climate adaptation and resilience
The role of militaries and intelligence services
Disinformation and democracy
The global energy transition
Technology and artificial intelligence
Strategic competition
Climate intervention and geoengineering”
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Postdoctoral Scholar – Solar Geoengineering Climate Response Evaluation at University of Chicago MS in Environmental Science | Scholar Green, England, United Kingdom
Message Andrew Lockley
UPCOMING EVENTS
01 September | Online - Beyond the Headlines: Reporting on Solar Geoengineering by Solution Journalism Network
04 September | Online - Albedo Feedbacks: Why We Must Reverse Global Warming & How to Do So by MEERTalk
08 September | Online - Regional workshop on solar geoengineering for African journalists by SRM360, Africa Climate Intervention Research Hub and Meridian Futures
10-11 September | Washington, DC. - 2026 RFF and Harvard SRM Social Science Research Workshop
23 September | United States - Navigating Non-Linear Climate Risk and Response: From the Arctic to the Global Climate System by Ocean Visions
23 September | New York - The Degrees Initiative looks back: 15 years of SRM research and engagement in the Global South
23 September | United States - A new era for SRM research: launching the world’s first global SRM-agriculture study by The Degrees Initiative & Cornell University
23 September | United States - SRM Research Hub Crawl: Building a Community for Responsible Solar Reflective Methods Research and Governance by CCAN
12-13 October | Reykjavik, Iceland - Global Risk and Stabilization Summit 2026 by ARC
12-15 October | Malaysia - Global Tipping Points 2026 | Abstract Deadline: 15 May
05 November | Ortega, Stanford - Global Environmental Policy Seminar with David Keith by Stanford University
7–11 December 2026 | San Francisco, CA - AGU26 Annual Meeting | Abstract Submission Deadline: 05 August 2026
10-14 January 2027 | Denver, CO & Online | 19th Symposium on Aerosol–Cloud–Climate Interactions
08-09 April 2027 | United States - 2027 Solar Radiation Management Annual Meeting by Simons Foundation
Solar Geoengineering Events Calendar
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PODCASTS
Who’s in charge? Governance of climate repair | Climate Repair on air
“Perhaps the biggest challenge of climate repair is not the technology, it’s working out who decides, who gets a say, and who bears responsibility for what happens after.
Prof Hugh Hunt, Deputy Director of the Centre for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge, speaks to Prof Daniel Bodansky about governance and international law on climate repair. Prof Bodansky is Regent’s Professor at Arizona State University and has served as a US climate change negotiator on the international stage.
In this episode, they discuss:
What are the challenges for governing these technologies?
How do you define “geoengineering”, “governance”, and more?
What role can international law play, if any?”
Coffee and Cocoa: Global Warming and Geoengineering Scenarios | Green Frequency | Environmental Science & Earth Radio
“What would happen to coffee and cocoa if humans deliberately tried to cool the planet? Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nina Grant joins Green Frequency to explain stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, a proposed form of solar geoengineering that would introduce reflective particles into the upper atmosphere.
Drawing on climate and crop modeling for cocoa in Ghana and coffee in Brazil, Nina explains why lowering global temperatures may not be enough. In her modeled scenarios, SAI softened projected losses but did not return either crop to present-day yields. The conversation opens the black box of climate models, explores the importance of rainfall and agricultural management, and reveals how one planetary intervention could produce very different outcomes around the world.
It also confronts the much larger questions surrounding ozone loss, termination shock, climate justice, and governance. SAI would not remove carbon dioxide or replace phasing out fossil fuels. But as scientific and political interest grows, understanding what it could change, whom it might help, and who gets to decide is becoming a public question.”
Suicide Impacts of SRM - Tanaka | Reviewer 2 does geoengineering
“Could reducing sunlight to cool the planet also affect mental health? @geoengineering1 interviews Shinsuke Tanaka about new research examining the link between sunlight and suicide and what it could mean for solar radiation management (SRM).
Using nearly three decades of U.S. county-month data, Tanaka and colleagues find that sustained reductions in sunlight significantly increase suicide rates. They estimate that a 1.5°C SRM scenario could result in around 3,810 additional U.S. suicides between 2030 and 2100 from reduced sunlight alone, or 16,320 when temperature effects are included.
The conversation also covers the difference between seasonal correlations and causal effects, possible biological and behavioral mechanisms, and the challenges of applying U.S.-based findings globally.
Paper Discussed: Tanaka, S., & Matsubayashi, T. (2026). Clouding the mind? Assessing the suicide impacts of solar radiation management in the United States. The Japanese Economic Review, 1-21. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42973-026-00273-5“
Aerosol Warming Over Bright Surfaces - Kapoor | Reviewer 2 does geoengineering
“@geoengineering1 interviews Taveen Kapoor about his study [preprint] showing that purely scattering stratospheric aerosols can produce positive shortwave radiative forcing, and localized warming, over high-albedo surfaces such as snow, ice, and deserts. They discuss how diffuse light reflected from bright surfaces travels farther through the aerosol layer, increasing the likelihood of backscattering toward the surface.
They also discuss why multi-angle radiative-transfer calculations reveal stronger positive forcing than the standard two-stream approximation, particularly in tropical and extratropical regions, while daily averages can obscure intense daytime forcing peaks.
The conversation explores implications for SAI, including potential effects on snowmelt and regions such as the Tibetan Plateau and Sahel, as well as the growing burden of alumina aerosols from spacecraft reentry. They also discuss uncertainties and related research on alumina-based stratospheric aerosols.
Paper Discussed: Zhang, L., Kapoor, T. S., Upadhyay, P., & Chakrabarty, R. K. (2026). Purely light-scattering aerosols could induce positive shortwave radiative forcing over high-albedo surfaces. EGUsphere, 2026, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3947”
Could Climate Engineering Do More Bad Than Good for the Environment? (Your Radical Questions with Professor David Keith) | Radical
“Professor David Keith, one of the world’s leading researchers in geoengineering, answers Your Radical Questions. In the main episode, David told Gabriel Gatehouse why deliberately reflecting a small amount of sunlight away from Earth could slow global warming. Now, you ask him whether we could ever know the unintended consequences before trying it, and whether sunlight reflection could be stopped safely once it had begun.
David’s also challenged on whether carbon capture and carbon removal genuinely help tackle climate change, or if they offer oil companies an excuse to continue operating as usual. And is continued economic growth compatible with protecting the planet?”
Climate repair: are leaders ready? | Climate Repair on air
“Are leaders and policymakers equipped with the knowledge to deal with climate repair? Prof Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge, speaks to Dr Trish Lavery, a strategic foresight analysts who has advised the Australian government and international organisations on emerging technologies and global risks. In this episode, they cover:
-How does knowledge get from scientists to policymakers?
-How do we deal with disinformation?
-What are the biggest threats and barriers?”
Can We Save the Doomsday Glacier? — Marianne Hagen, Seabed Curtain Project | Inevitable & Obvious
“An underwater curtain 150 meters tall and 80 kilometers wide, anchored to the Antarctic seabed, may be the most direct thing anyone can do about sea level rise this century. Marianne Hagen co-leads the Seabed Curtain Project after serving as Norway’s deputy foreign minister and as an executive vice president at Aker Solutions, so she has spent a career inside the rooms where governments and industry actually decide about energy and risk. We talk about why warm, salty bottom water started creeping over a seabed sill a few decades ago and now flows down a Grand Canyon-sized channel to the soft underbelly of Thwaites Glacier, and why that glacier works like a cork in a champagne bottle holding back the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Then we get into the fix itself: raising that sill, 200 kilometers from the glacier, back to the height that kept the warm water out. We also cover this year’s expedition, which drilled through a thousand meters of ice and confirmed the warm water before losing its fiber optic cable at 700 meters, and why the next chance at that data is 2028 unless someone finds a ship.”
Climate repair? A chat with Prof Sir David King | Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions
“My guest on the podcast this week is Prof Sir David King. An incredibly accomplished scientist with over 500 papers to his name, he has also been Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK government, the UK Government’s Special Representative for Climate Change, and in May 2020 he formed and led Independent SAGE amongst other accomplishments.”
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
What They’re Saying: Marianne Hagen on Climate Systems Engineering | UChicago Climate Systems Engineering initiative
“Marianne Hagen, Co-Lead of the Seabed Curtain Project, discusses the topic of climate systems engineering and what’s unique about UChicago.”
Could the known cooling by air pollution be safely mimicked to cool the oceans? | Clive Elsworth
“This presentation brought together members of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), including scientists, engineers and policy-focused participants, to discuss the potential use of Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) as a climate-cooling intervention.
It was chaired by Clive Elsworth and focused on a proposed approach using sulfate aerosol particles to increase the reflectivity of suitable marine clouds, thereby reducing the amount of solar energy absorbed by the ocean.”
Glenn Weinreb - Is it Possible for HPAC to Solve the Climate Problem? if so How? | Healthy Planet Action Coalition
“Is it possible for HPAC to solve the climate problem; and if so, how? One strategy for HPAC is to craft a climate plan and communicate it to the world. However, in order for it to be relevant, it would probably need to: (a) solve the climate problem at the lowest cost to society, (b) not require consumers to pay more for green products, and (c) be accepted by governments. What might that look like?
One possible approach is to divide the problem into two primary parts and do R&D to the extent required to resolve each. One problem is carbon dioxide emissions (i.e., 40 GtCO2/year), while the other is global warming (i.e., 0.3°C/decade).
To solve the carbon dioxide emissions problem, we need to figure out how to make green energy at a cost less than fossil fuel. Consumers would then switch to save money. To solve the global warming problem, we need to figure out how to reflect sunlight back into outer space at a reasonable cost and without harm. We probably need to reflect approximately 1% of sunlight within ~15 years near the North and South poles. In theory, this could be done with airplanes that spray reflective gases into the upper atmosphere. An HPAC climate plan would need to include a reflectivity plan that explains what needs to be done between now and full-scale operations, possible 15 years from now (Example: www.aplantosavetheplanet.org/rp). An HPAC climate plan would need to refer to a list of things to developed that are not being worked on, or not being worked on at a significant scale (Example: www.aplantosavetheplanet.org/lab).
An HPAC climate plan would need to explain how money moves from funding sources (e.g. foundations, wealthy individuals, and governments), to managers, and then onto scientists and engineers. In theory, an agreement would be needed between funding sources and managing organizations, and from managing organizations to scientists/engineers, and these would need to meet the satisfaction of the various participants.”
CU 2026: Can geo-engineering save the planet? with Bill McGuire | Communist Party of Great Britain
Large Explosive Volcanos Cause Significant Short-Term Cooling, But AlSO Trigger Century Long Cooling | Paul Beckwith
“Large Explosive Volcanos Cause Significant Short-Term Cooling, But AlSO Trigger Century Long Cooling
When a large volcano erupts and sends ash and soot and sulfur into the upper atmosphere it causes a short-term cooling, for example it can reduce global average temperatures by 0.5 to 1.0 degrees Celsius for 3 to 5 years.
What most people do not realize, is that there is often a longer term cooling as well, often lasting for a century or a few centuries up to even 1000 years. This long-term cooling is measured by looking at glacial advance both at the poles and at high altitudes. “
NOAC meeting - 3 Aug 2026 | Clive Elsworth
“Agenda
Clive – MCB cooling by Sulfate Aerosol
Glenn – Proposals to fund SRM
Greg S – El-Nino or just underlying warming?
Sev – Invitation to identify using AI countries for cooling experiments
Brian – At Impact Week at Singapore next week. – General update
Ron B – Regeneration of ship tracks – to avoid Iceland Termination Shock”
Can we fix climate change? Stratospheric Aerosol Injection: deliverance or disaster? | Environmental Science with Dr Elinor Tuffnell
“As climate change continues to worsen, and fires rage across the planet, it’s time to ask, can we fix this? This video takes you through Stratospheric Aerosol Injection, how it works, the dangers and advantages.”
Climate Moonshot | To Save The World
“Glenn Weinreb discusses his Manhattan2 project, proposing a climate moonshot focused on research, development, and stratospheric aerosol injection to help cool the Earth.”
Does AMOC Collapse Depend on Rate of Warming? with René van Westen | Climate Chat
“In this Climate Chat episode, we interview returning guest René van Westen on his latest Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) research that shows that AMOC collapse depends not on the amount of warming but rather the rate of warming. Dr. Westen is a postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.”
Live Discussion: Solar Geoengineering and India – Heat, Pollution, and Politics | SRM360
“Join SRM360 for a live discussion on how solar geoengineering could affect India, and what role Indian experts and policymakers might play in the field’s future.
An expert panel featuring Dhanasree Jayaram, Vani Rijhwani, and Gaurav Saraf discuss:
– How is India being impacted by climate change and air pollution?
– How could solar geoengineering affect India’s climate?
– What role could India play in the geopolitics and governance of solar geoengineering?”
You Can Fight Climate Change at Work! | Gernot Wagner | Work Space Talk Show
“Climate risk is getting worse, but many of the solutions are getting cheaper. The bigger challenge may no longer be inventing new technology, but deciding what to deploy, who pays for it, and which tradeoffs are actually worth making.
Gernot Wagner, climate economist at Columbia Business School and author of “Climate Shock” and “Geoengineering: The Gamble,” joins Nathan Manuel to unpack the economics behind climate change. They discuss nuclear power, AI data centers, the massive carbon footprint of construction, why the rich are better positioned to adapt, and whether solar geoengineering could ever become a serious option.”
Can We Turn Down Earth’s Thermostat? | Juan Enriquez | Imagination in Action
“At an Imagination in Action Science Dinner, Juan Enriquez explores the extraordinary power this generation has to shape the future and the major problems we still have to solve.
From rising ocean temperatures and methane trapped beneath Arctic permafrost to Greenland ice cores revealing how rapidly Earth’s climate can change, Enriquez argues that some climate tipping points could unfold much faster than we expect.
But this isn’t a talk about giving up on the future. He explores advances in fusion, solar energy, AI, climate modeling, and engineering and challenges the next generation to think bigger about how technology could help stabilize and eventually cool the planet.
Imagination in Action brings together scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and leaders working on some of the world’s most consequential ideas.”
Welcome Address | Summit Chair Dr. Soumitra Das | India Climate Cooling Summit 2026 | Healthy Climate Initiative
“Dr. Soumitra Das is a global leader with experience across Fortune 500 companies, the US Government, and telecom global standards bodies. He is a Climate Reality Leader trained under Al Gore. His work includes the US national broadband plan, glacier preservation, rewilding, and national cooling strategies. He drives innovative solutions to address climate challenges and sustainability. He holds degrees from George Mason University and The Wharton School.”
India Climate Cooling Summit Debrief and HPAC Update | Healthy Planet Action Coalition
“The first part of the program will feature an update by Soumitra Das on the outcomes of the recent India Cooling Summit that was convened in New Delhi on August 4th, 2026 by our affiliate organization Healthy Climate Initiative. The second part is an HPAC community discussion.”
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