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TOP 10 SRM UPDATES FROM MAY 2026
Stardust Solutions Reveals Details of Its SAI Technology
Stardust Solutions revealed previously secretive details about its proposed SAI technology, including proprietary particles, dispersal methods, and deployment monitoring systems. According to the company’s released scientific papers (preprints), it plans to inject 0.5-micron particles roughly 11 miles (18 km) into the stratosphere using specialized high-altitude dispersal systems.
The first proposed particle consists of amorphous silica (a common food additive) coated with hydrophobic materials (such as trimethylmethoxysilane) to prevent clumping, while a second design features an amorphous silica shell surrounding a calcium carbonate core (found in limestone and eggshells) to improve sunlight reflection.
Stardust says the silica particles could initially reflect up to 1% of incoming sunlight, while the silica-carbonate particles could be used at higher concentrations to block more than 1%. The company claims its spherical particles are biodegradable, safe for people and animals, unlikely to accumulate in oceans or soils, and designed to eventually reintegrate into natural cycles after settling back to Earth.
US Congress Pushes NOAA on Geoengineering Oversight
The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (U.S. Congress) has requested a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) briefing on marine cloud brightening and broader geoengineering oversight. Led by Rep. Babin and Rep. McCormick, the letter follows a GAO call for stronger federal oversight of weather modification research. Lawmakers flagged recent U.S. field experiments (Alameda MCB experiment) and raised concerns over environmental risk, governance gaps, and transparency in solar geoengineering research and deployment pathways.
ARIA Launches Funding Call for Projects Related to Climate Adaptation, Weather Innovation, and Climate Interventions
UK research agency ARIA has launched its “Opportunity Seeds” funding under the “Future Proofing Our Climate and Weather” programme, offering between £10,000 £500,000 per project for early-stage research on climate adaptation and resilience. The call supports novel carbon dioxide removal (CDR) concepts, advances in extreme weather forecasting, and exploratory ideas related to solar geoengineering. It explicitly excludes emissions reduction projects and commercial products. Applications close on 31 July 2026.
Earth’s Mysterious East-West Reflectivity Symmetry May Have Implications for Solar Geoengineering
Researchers discovered a previously unknown east-west albedo symmetry, finding that a circle running along the 27°E and 153°W meridians divides Earth into two hemispheres that reflect nearly identical amounts of sunlight despite profound geographic differences. Using 25 years of satellite observations, the study found that stronger high-cloud reflection in the Eastern Hemisphere is balanced by stronger low-cloud reflection in the Western Hemisphere, while year-to-year variations closely track ENSO phases, revealing a previously unrecognized constraint on Earth’s energy balance with potential implications for climate modelling and solar geoengineering research.
Britons Back Small-Scale Research Into Sun-Dimming Climate Fixes, Government-Backed Report Finds
Through a UK-wide public dialogue co-commissioned by NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) and Sciencewise, 52 people from across the UK spent over 17 hours in workshops and online sessions, hearing from specialists and exploring the benefits, risks and ethics of SRM research. Participants expressed support for further SRM research, especially computer modelling, alongside clear concerns about deployment, and developed six principles they believe should guide SRM research. The findings provide information and evidence on public views for decision-makers, researchers and funders to consider alongside scientific and technical expertise.
Indian Government Policy Think Tank Establishes SRM Working Group
India’s premier policy think tank, NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), established a working group of domestic and international policymakers to evaluate the risks of SRM and develop a governance framework. The initiative aims to help the country combat persistent, extreme heat waves that disproportionately threaten its vulnerable and aging populations.
UNEP Releases New Report on Solar Radiation Modification
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a new working paper on SRM, stating that current scientific evidence does not support SRM as a viable climate solution while emphasizing continued concerns around governance, justice, transparency, and unintended consequences. The report stresses that SRM research should not distract from emissions cuts or adaptation efforts and calls for further assessment, oversight, and international discussion as debate around climate interventions continues. Expert reactions were mixed, with some welcoming the report’s emphasis on governance and research, while others argued its title overstated conclusions and risked discouraging further scientific inquiry, particularly in the Global South.
Satellite Megaconstellation Emissions Could Create “Unintended” Sunlight-Blocking Effects
University College London researchers published a new study detailing how soot and toxic metals from satellite megaconstellation launches and atmospheric burn-ups are accumulating in the upper atmosphere. The soot absorbs incoming sunlight, warming the upper atmosphere while simultaneously cooling Earth’s surface by reducing incoming solar radiation. Researchers estimate these emissions could account for 42% of the space sector’s climate impact by 2029, raising concerns that expanding satellite activity may create unintended climate effects resembling “unregulated accidental geoengineering”.
Options for Responsible Governance of Research on SRM
The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) released a new briefing that presents the state of SRM research and the knowledge gaps, and highlights issues and options for the responsible governance of such research.
Planetary Sunshade Institute Releases Open-Source Sunshade Irradiance Model
Planetary Sunshade Institute have released an open-source Sunshade Irradiance Model designed to simulate the shading effects of orbital sunshade fleets and generate inputs for the Community Earth System Model (CESM). The tool allows users to model spacecraft fleet size, number, and orbital parameters, converting them into radiative forcing inputs for climate simulations. Developers say the model aims to bridge orbital engineering and climate science while supporting transparency and wider research into space-based climate interventions.
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 & THESES
Efficacy assessment of stratospheric aerosol scrubbing as a counter climate intervention strategy | Authors: Anthony C. Jones, James M. Haywood, Matthew Henry, and Alistair Duffey
Study finds that “Stratospheric Aerosol Scrubbing” (SAS) using coarse calcite injections could reduce SAI aerosol loading and offset its cooling effect by ~30% in simulations, suggesting counter-geoengineering may be technically feasible and raises governance concerns.
Past Field Experiments of Solar Radiation Modification: A Review of the Scientific and Technical Aspects for Governance | Authors: I. Hernandez-Galindo, A. Määttänen, B. H. Redmond Roche, O. Boucher, P. J. Irvine, J. C. Moore
Review of SRM field experiments (SAI, MCB, CCT/MCT) finds that while projects like SPICE, SCoPEx, E-PEACE, and GBR trials showed technical feasibility at small scales, many were halted due to governance gaps, public opposition, ethics concerns, and lack of transparency.
Differentiating Solar Radiation Modification Field Experiments: Scale, Technical Characteristics, and Governance Implications | Authors: B. H. Redmond Roche, I. Hernandez-Galindo, A. Määttänen, et al.
Typology-based analysis proposes a phase-based classification of SRM field experiments (near-, intermediate-, distant-phase), highlighting governance gaps, regulatory gray zones, transparency issues, and legitimacy challenges within EU frameworks.
On the detectability by uninvolved parties of covert stratospheric aerosol injection programs producing transboundary impacts | Authors: Wake Smith, Matias Alberola, Jasper Boers, Karen Rosenlof and Daniele Visioni
Study finds that covert SAI deployment is only plausible at very small scales, while any climate-relevant deployment would likely be detected in advance via satellite plume monitoring and tracking of required high-altitude aircraft fleets.
Earned Consent: Rethinking the Authority to Refuse Solar Geoengineering | Authors: Niñoval F. Pacaol & Mary Eimeren P. Tumulak
Paper argues consent may not be absolute in solar geoengineering governance and could be overridden for major emitters, reframing debates around responsibility and justice.
New insights into superheated atomisation offer potential improvement in submicron particle size distribution for marine cloud brightening | Authors: Edmund Reardon, Adam Boies, Jake Chapman, et al.
Study tests superheated atomisation for MCB sea-salt aerosols, producing submicron size distributions but with most mass still in larger particles and requiring further optimization despite comparable energy use to existing systems.
Contrasting Changes in Rainfall Structure Between Monsoon and Adjacent Dry Regions Under Stratospheric Aerosol Injection | Authors: Jie Jiang, Tianjun Zhou, Wenmin Man, Meng Zuo
Study finds that SAI aiming to restore 1.5°C warming could unevenly shift rainfall, reducing monsoon extremes and increasing drought risk in some regions while boosting precipitation in adjacent dry areas.
Artificial Flooding Leads to Thicker and Brighter Arctic Sea Ice | Authors: Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, Andrea Ceccolini, et al.
Field campaign shows winter-flooded Arctic sea ice became thicker, brighter, and slower to melt, gaining up to 32 cm thickness and suggesting surface flooding could help partially counter long-term sea ice thinning, though large-scale feasibility remains uncertain.
African heat stress risk under stratospheric aerosol injection: insights from ARISE‑SAI‑1.5 simulations | Authors: Olumuyiwa Ayotunde Oloniyo, Babatunde J Abiodun, et al.
SAI reduces temperature-driven heat hazards in Africa but only partially lowers overall heat stress risk, with exposure and vulnerability limiting effectiveness and preventing return to baseline conditions.
Impact of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering implemented only in the winter hemispheres on ITCZ and tropical monsoon regions | Authors: Thejas Kallihosur and Govindasamy Bala
Seasonal SAI deployment confined to the winter hemisphere can shift the ITCZ and enhance tropical summer monsoon rainfall and surface water, but with trade-offs in winter precipitation and large-scale circulation changes.
Beyond discrete stratocumulus regimes: a ternary continuum of morphology reveals within-regime variability in cloud susceptibilities | Authors: Tom Goren, Goutam Choudhury, and Graham Feingold
Study introduces a ternary framework for marine stratocumulus cloud morphology, showing that cloud responses to droplet changes vary by type and that marine cloud brightening effectiveness strongly depends on cloud morphology.
AMOC weakening in response to global and regional reductions in aerosol emissions | Authors: Robert J Allen, Timothy Carson, Wei Liu, Laura J Wilcox, et al.
Climate model simulations suggest that reducing anthropogenic aerosols for air quality improvement could weaken the AMOC by mid-century through increased North Atlantic warming and reduced surface buoyancy, with the strongest effects from North American and European emissions cuts.
Evaluating the Reliability of GLENS Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Ensemble Simulations over Southeast Asia | Authors: Heri Kuswanto, Hakan Ahmad Fatahillah, et al.
GLENS evaluation over Southeast Asia shows the ensemble underestimates uncertainty in daily temperature and precipitation (2020–2025), with strong underdispersion versus ERA5, indicating that post-processing is needed before using it for regional SAI impact assessments.
Energy management strategies for mitigating Arctic amplification using a solar chimney | Authors: Yang Liu, Li Zhou, Chong Peng, Tingzhen Ming, Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi, et al.
Focusing on Arctic SRM, the paper proposes a solar chimney–driven spray ice-enhancement system to increase sea ice thickness and extent while shifting heat above the inversion layer, aiming to reduce Arctic amplification but noting key operational and environmental challenges.
Delaware Corporate Law as Geoengineering Regulation | Authors: Luis Armando Martínez
Article argues that Delaware corporate law—through fiduciary duties and oversight precedents like Caremark and Marchand—could become a key governance framework for private-sector SAI in the US, shaping both risk management and potential opportunistic behavior in the absence of dedicated regulation.
Stratospheric aerosol forcing for CMIP7 – Part 1: optical properties for pre-industrial, historical, and scenario simulations | Authors: Thomas J. Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Sujan Khanal, et al.
CMIP7 introduces an updated stratospheric aerosol dataset (1750–2023) with improved volcanic sulfur records and better representation of smaller eruptions, leading to stronger estimated aerosol forcing and notable shifts in historical temperature simulations compared to CMIP6.
Strategic research priorities for marine climate interventions in Australia | Authors: Kerryn Brent, Lennart Bach, Andrew Lenton, Bronte Tilbrook, et al.
Paper reviews marine climate interventions (mCIs) in Australia, highlighting technical, governance, and social challenges, and prioritizing expanded research, improved monitoring/verification, and inclusive governance with affected communities and First Nations before any deployment decisions.
Vertical Legal Borrowing and Environmental Governance: Bridging Institutional Gaps for Climate Intervention and Natural Resource Management in Developing Countries | Authors: Princess Nice David
Study argues that developing countries like Nigeria can actively shape CDR and SRM governance through “vertical legal borrowing,” using reciprocal learning from domestic and international environmental law to move from passive rule-takers to contributors in global climate governance.
Stratospheric cooling and amplification of radiative forcing with rising carbon dioxide | Authors: Sean Cohen, Robert Pincus & Lorenzo M. Polvani
Study explains stratospheric cooling under rising CO₂ using radiative transfer modeling, showing it is driven by infrared absorption processes, enhanced at higher altitudes, and amplified by water vapour and ozone effects, with each CO₂ doubling producing up to ~8 K cooling and increasing CO₂ radiative forcing by ~50%.
Geoengineering and Animal Ethics: The Case of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection | Authors: Leonie N. Bossert & Clare Palmer
Study examines SRM ethics beyond human impacts, arguing that SAI raises unresolved animal ethics concerns and major research gaps around wildlife welfare, ecological effects, and justice for non-human species under potential deployment scenarios.
Cation Identity, Phase State, and Density as Key Determinants of Radiative Forcing in Atmospheric Sulfate Systems | Authors: Vahid Shahabadi, Yingshi Luo, Aaron M. Palmisano, et al.
Results show sulfate aerosol behavior depends strongly on cation type and phase state, with multivalent sulfates forming viscous gels at low humidity and some increasing refractive index, challenging simplified H₂SO₄–H₂O assumptions used in SRM modeling.
Roadmap toward a planetary sunshade for space-based solar geoengineering | Authors: Catello Leonardo Matonti, Marina Coco, et al.
A proposed Planetary Sunshade System roadmap outlines phased development of a space-based SRM concept using solar sails and swarm infrastructure at the Sun–Earth/Moon Lagrange point, targeting initial operation by 2040 and full deployment by 2080 with emphasis on feasibility and coordination.
Examining Opportunities to Strengthen Climate Governance in Iran for Enhancing International Convergence and Resilience to Climate Change | Author: Sadegh Karimi
Review of COP29–COP30 finds increasing global emphasis on climate finance, adaptation, and fossil fuel transition, while highlighting Iran’s growing climate vulnerabilities and constrained access to funding, and calling for stronger governance including CDR and SRM integration.
The Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) contribution to CMIP7 – description of new experimental protocols and preliminary results - Preprint | Authors: Daniele Visioni, Alan Robock, Alistair Duffey, Matthew Henry, et al.
CMIP7 GeoMIP framework proposes structured SRM experiments (Preparatory, Tier 1, Tier 2) to improve realism and comparability, building on past studies to assess SRM impacts, uncertainties, overshoot pathways, and climate tipping risks across models.
Estimating Twomey forcing sensitivity to aerosol plume spreading rates - Preprint | Authors: Lucas A. McMichael, Ehsan Erfani, Robert Wood, and Knut von Salzen
Study finds MCB effectiveness is largely insensitive to turbulence-driven plume spreading, with forcing governed more by aerosol lifetime and cloud response, though unrealistic spreading assumptions may overestimate cooling potential.
Solid-particle stratospheric aerosol injection: a 2-D modeling exploration of the design space - Preprint | Authors: Yoav Lederer, Nahliel Wygoda, Dorri Halbertal, and Brian E. J. Rose
Study introduces a 2-D framework for solid-particle SAI, showing that tropical injection maximizes cooling but increases stratospheric heating, while material choice is critical with calcite producing lower heating than silica.
Resolving the SAI Trilemma with a Novel Core–Shell Mineral Aerosol: DoloSil-20, a Silica-Passivated Dolomite Architecture for Simultaneous Optical Efficiency, Thermal Neutrality, and Ozone Safety - Preprint | Authors: ABDUL HASEEB TANOLI, Shams ul Arfeen
Study proposes a core–shell mineral aerosol (DoloSil-20) for SAI that enhances cooling efficiency while reducing stratospheric heating and ozone impacts compared to sulfate, though with shorter atmospheric lifetime due to higher particle density.
Precipitation diffusion downscaling and application to out-of-distribution simulations with and without stratospheric aerosol injection - Preprint | Authors: Cameron Dong, James W. Hurrell, Elizabeth A. Barnes
High-resolution diffusion downscaling shows SAI could nearly halve projected increases in extreme precipitation across the contiguous US, though strong regional variability remains in the response.
Assessing retrieval biases in ship tracks - Preprint | Authors: Iarla Boyce, Alice Cicirello, and Edward Gryspeerdt
Study shows that satellite assumptions about cloud droplet size distributions can bias ship-track analyses, potentially overestimating droplet numbers and the Twomey effect, and thus overstating MCB effectiveness.
Climate Change Perceptions and Policy Priorities in Pakistan: A Community Survey Analysis and Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Perspective - Preprint | Authors: Abdul Haseeb Tanoli, Shams ul Arfeen, Zeeshan Anwar, Yasir Abbas
Nationwide survey in Pakistan finds high climate-change concern and widespread reported impacts such as heat, floods, smog, and agricultural stress, while emphasizing public preference for afforestation and water management alongside framing SAI as a potential supplementary—not replacement—climate measure.
Geoengineering in Germany and South Africa: Between Normalization and Emancipative Catastrophism - Book Chapter | Authors: Iris Hilbrich
Study finds geoengineering views vary sharply between German and South African researchers, with Global South perspectives often marginalized, highlighting how spatial inequality and climate risk shape debates and raising concerns about justice, neocolonial dynamics, and governance.
Reductions in Climate Zone Changes Under Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Compared to Unabated Warming - Preprint | Authors: Jaylynn M Brunelli and Prof. Michael Steven Diamond
Study finds that SAI could moderate global climate-zone shifts, producing patterns closer to medium-emissions scenarios than high-emissions outcomes under a Köppen–Trewartha framework, though substantial regional uncertainties remain.
Uptake of stratospheric species on minerals proposed for stratospheric aerosol injection - Preprint | Authors: Anais Lostier, Yair Segev, Tzemah Kislev, et al.
Study finds that proposed SAI solid particles show minimal NO₂ uptake but variable HCl reactivity depending on material, with amorphous silica exhibiting the lowest ozone-relevant reactivity compared to calcite and alumina, indicating lower potential atmospheric risk.
STARDUST’S PREPRINTS
Paper#01: From Particles to Policy: Technical Building Blocks for Multi-State SAI Coordination - Preprint | Authors: R. Yahav, A. Spector, D. Kushnir, M. C. Waxman
Paper proposes engineered solid-particle SAI with embedded signatures for traceability and introduces direct measurement of SAI radiative forcing (SRF) from aerosol layers as tools to support transparent international monitoring and governance.
Paper#02: Engineered amorphous silica particles with minimized heterogeneous uptake behavior for stratospheric aerosol injection | Authors: Tzemah Kislev, Alina Berkman, Gal Schwartz Roitman, et al.
Engineered amorphous silica particles for SAI show extremely low uptake of key ozone-related gases (HCl, HNO₃, N₂O₅, O₃), with even lower reactivity than crystalline quartz, suggesting reduced potential for stratospheric ozone chemistry impacts.
Paper#03: Efficient dispersal of submicron solid particles for stratospheric aerosol injection | Authors: Yair Segev, Eitan Y. Levine, Yair Bar-Yoseph, et al.
Engineered hydrophobic coatings and pneumatic dispersion tests show that amorphous silica particles can be efficiently broken into submicron sizes—especially ~300 nm—reducing clumping and suggesting aircraft-based solid-particle SAI may be technically feasible.
Paper#04: Composite sub-micron solid particles engineered to enable safe, controllable, efficient, and practical SAI | Authors: Stardust Labs
Paper outlines functional requirements for SAI particles, sub-micron size, stability, manufacturability, and aircraft compatibility, and highlights two promising designs: engineered amorphous silica spheres and silica-coated calcium carbonate particles targeting ~1% or more solar reflection.
Paper#05: Solid-particle stratospheric aerosol injection: a 2-D modelling exploration of the design space | Authors: Yoav Lederer, Nahliel Wygoda, Dorri Halbertal and Brian E. J. Rose
Two-dimensional SAI modeling of silica and calcite particles shows that tropical injection maximizes cooling but increases stratospheric heating and particle growth, while calcite consistently produces lower heating than silica due to weaker infrared absorption.
Paper#06: Uptake of stratospheric species on minerals proposed for stratospheric aerosol injection | Authors: Anais Lostier, Yair Segev, Tzemah Kislev, et al.
Across tested SAI solid particles, NO₂ uptake is minimal while HCl reactivity varies strongly by material, with amorphous silica showing the lowest ozone-relevant reactivity compared to calcite and alumina, underscoring the importance of low-reactivity surface engineering.
Paper#07: Feasibility Study for Industrial Scale Submicronic Engineered Amorphous Silica Particle (SEASP) Manufacturing for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection | Authors: Tamir Kuzurbardov, Avi Yaverboim, Tzemah Kislev, Eli Abramov
Feasibility analysis of SEASP for SAI finds TEOS-based sol-gel production could scale from 250 kt/yr modules within ~5 years to multi-Mt regional hubs thereafter, with TEOS supply as the key constraint but overall manufacturing deemed technically and economically viable.
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WEB POSTS & REPORTS
Contents May Shift - Bitch Less, Build More - Towards a more effective environmentalism
Solar Geoengineering Updates - Monthly Solar Geoengineering Updates (April’2026)
LinkedIn - The Way Ahead for Atmospheric Security
Climate Home News - EU warns on solar geoengineering but research debate grinds on
Encompass - From moratorium to mandate: Europe’s next move on geoengineering
Vermont Daily Chronicle - Bean: OGA connects with Secretary Kennedy on Geoengineering
Erik’s Earth - Chasing Sun: A Look Inside Solar Geoengineering
LinkedIn - DSG’s response to the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change’s call for input on climate-related technologies and human rights
The Degrees Initiative - Philippines and Ghana teams hold joint workshops on opportunities, risks and governance of SRM
Planetary Sunshade Institute - Planetary Sunshade Irradiance Model
The University of Chicago - UChicago Undergraduates Reach for the Stratosphere with PASCAL
C.f.g - From moratorium to mandate
University of Philippines - Solar Radiation Management and Climate Governance spotlighted at national dialogue
Science Literacy Project - Cooling the planet with balloons: Could a geoengineering gamble slow global warming?
TBS Graduates - SAU hosts seminar on solar radiation modification in climate-vulnerable Bangladesh
The Economic Times - Niti Aayog evaluates solar radiation modification to address extreme heat conditions in India
The New York Times - Can Some Very Tiny Particles Cool the Planet? One Tech Company Says Yes.
Yahoo - A closely guarded plan to cool Earth is revealed
The Hill Times - More awareness of geoengineering research needed for climate-change-fight: reader
IFL Science - Pollution From Megaconstellation Launches Is Changing The Atmosphere, Causing “A Climate Effect That’s A Little Bit Like Geoengineering”
ACIR Hub - How could SRM affect West Africa?
Heatmap - The World’s First Major Geoengineering Startup Unveils its Technology
The Degrees Initiative - Ghana hosts first technical workshop to build national expertise on solar radiation modification
Peter Dynes - Cooling the planet requires much more than planting trees
The Times - Dim the sun to tackle climate change? Fine by us, public suggests
New Scientist - Geoengineering can thicken Arctic sea ice, but for how long?
Peter Dynes - The New Termination Shock
The DP - Penn Climate executive director discusses future of solar technology at Drexel film screening
Financial Times - Letter: Climate interventions also need their own governance
Chicago Business - UChicago forum examines the future of climate intervention
Inevitable & Obvious - The Case for a Planetary Sunshade
Atmos - With Geoengineering, a Fringe Climate Solution Moves Into the Mainstream
The University of Chicago - Second-Year Zilin Xiang Wins Inaugural CSEi Student Essay Contest
SRM360 - A Necessary Intervention: A Utilitarian Case for Governed SAI
SRM360 - The Cultural Architecture of SAI: Systems, Resource Extraction, and Climate Justice
Rebrighten - Draft Book: Sunlight Reflection - The Business Case for an Albedo Accord
American Academy of Arts & Sciences - Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) Primer
Peter’s Substack - The Stardust Problem
SRM360 - SAI: How Low Can You Go?
Financial Times - Can geoengineering avert a climate catastrophe?
E&E News by Politico - GOP lawmakers question federal oversight of sunlight-blocking tech
Economist - Could microscopic spheres of silica help cool the planet?
City of Erice - Collection of signatures for a popular initiative bill entitled “Blue Skies - Ban on Modifying Weather Conditions (Geoengineering)”
APP - Experts discuss climate innovation at COMSATS University
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology - Babin, McCormick Request NOAA Briefing on Marine Cloud Brightening and Geoengineering Oversight
SRM360 - Stardust Reveals Its Particles for Climate Cooling
The Atmospheric Crucible - Unilateral Solar Geoengineering and the Limits of International Human Rights Law
UNEP - Solar Radiation Modification: Scientific evidence does not support SRM as a viable climate solution - Report
EU Parliament - Options for the responsible governance of research on solar radiation modification - Report
UKRI - Public dialogue explores solar radiation modification research - Report
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JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Postdoctoral Scholar – Solar Geoengineering Climate Response Evaluation at The University of Chicago
“Dr. Pete Irvine at the University of Chicago is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral scholar to join an interdisciplinary research team in a position supported by the University of Chicago’s Climate Systems Engineering initiative (CSEi, Director: David Keith). The aim of this position will be to identify and assess potential hotspots of climate risk under scenarios of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) deployment and compare those to the risks under global warming.”
Postdoctoral position on Arctic climate dynamics and climate intervention at UCLA | Deadline: 20 May 2026
“The Aerosol–Climate Interactions group at UCLA is seeking a postdoctoral scholar to study the climate response to targeted wintertime polar cooling. The position is part of a Simons Foundation-supported project assessing mixed-phase cloud thinning as a proposed climate-intervention concept. The project does not assume that this approach is feasible, desirable, or deployable; its goal is to determine how the Arctic and global climate system would respond, including effects on sea ice, hydrology, AMOC-relevant ocean stratification, time of emergence, and Arctic-community-relevant climate variables.”
Arctic Initiative Project Director at Harvard University | Cambridge
“The Project Director will conceptualize, organize, and convene the Arctic Initiative’s core activities aimed at advancing an understanding of the Arctic region, its opportunities and challenges. The Arctic Initiative Project Director will act as senior leadership of the program providing oversight and strategic guidance to all aspects of the Arctic Initiative project.”
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DEADLINES
04 June | University of Health and Allied Sciences - Short Course on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Modification (SRM)
11 - 12 June | UENR, Dormaa Campus - Short Course on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) by Emerging Climate Frontiers
18-19 June | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology - Short Course on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Modification (SRM)
UPCOMING EVENTS
05 June | Philadelphia, United States - Plan C for Civilization: Screening & Discussion (NORTH PHILLY)
15 June | Online - SRM Research on a Rapidly Changing Planet: Earth System Tipping Points by Co-Create
20-21 June | United States - Bridging the Knowledge Gaps in Climate Engineering with Experiments, Models, and Observations by Gordon Research Seminar
21-26 June 2026 | United States - Gordon Research Conference - Bridging Observations, Models, and Impacts in Solar Radiation Modification Research
10-11 September | Washington, DC. - 2026 RFF and Harvard SRM Social Science Research Workshop
12-15 October | Malaysia - Global Tipping Points 2026 | Abstract Deadline: 15 May
Solar Geoengineering Events Calendar
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PODCASTS
Plan C for Civilization — Ben Kalina | SRM Is Coming Faster Than You Think — Ben Kalina on 15 Years Filming Climate’s Most Controversial Idea | Inevitable & Obvious
“Sunlight reflection has spent decades as an idea scientists batted around at academic conferences. Now venture-backed companies are racing to build deployment systems, state legislatures are passing bans on weather modification research, and the public still mostly thinks the contrails overhead are a government plot. Ben Kalina has been pointing a camera at this entire evolution for fifteen years. Plan C for Civilization, his documentary on the field’s emergence as serious research, is the closest thing we have to a real historical record of how this is unfolding. We talked about what changed Ben’s mind about the timeline, why average audiences leave his film more curious not less, the strange dynamics of venture capital entering a space that runs on trust, and what of the Stardust Solutions optics problem can and cannot be engineered away.”
How to Dim the Sun | How We Survive
“Could dimming the sun be the key to cooling things down before the climate crisis worsens? Some scientists say yes, that we can cool the earth by launching tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. It’s a type of solar geoengineering that was once seen as preposterous, meant to exist only in the pages of a sci-fi novel. But now, it’s a reality.
To find out for ourselves, we travel to Northern California where two entrepreneurs are launching sulfur-filled balloons from the top of stacked shipping containers. Later, we talk with scientists on both sides of this issue to find out if solar geoengineering could help prevent catastrophic tipping points or introduce a whole new slew of cascading consequences.”
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
The unknowability of Solar Radiation Management, and why that matters | Centre for Climate Repair
“We are delighted to welcome Daniel Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. His lecture will explore the possibilities and uncertainties surrounding Solar Radiation Management, and why they matter for science, policy, and society.”
Big Bets to Prevent Climate Collapse | Climate Emergency Forum
“This episode explores how philanthropy can fund the risky, under‑the‑radar climate ideas that governments and markets often neglect. Host Herb Simmens speaks with Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy, about why we now need ambitious, translational R&D instead of small, incremental tweaks.”
A polarised debate - is there a middle ground of geoengineering? | Centre for Climate Repair
Ted Parson Insights from the Montreal Protocol for Climate Interventions | Healthy Planet Action Coalition
“Professor Parson is Distinguished Dan and Rae Emmett Professor of Environmental Law and Faculty Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, University of California Los Angeles. He has written extensively on the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances, and on climate intervention.”
DCA Seminar - Meteorology, April 24, 2026 | Departamento de Ciências Atmosféricas - IAG / USP
“Given the current scenario of global warming, in which the three-year period 2023-2025 recorded, for the first time, average temperatures exceeding 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels, humanity faces the imminent risk of reaching “tipping points”. Although mitigation and adaptation are essential strategies, Climate Intervention, specifically Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), emerges as the only alternative capable of promoting the cooling of the planet in a short period of time. This seminar aims to present the topic, addressing the techniques most discussed in the literature and the results of studies based on numerical modeling. Additionally, questions will be raised regarding the global governance required for such interventions.”
SGRP Lunch Talk: Thinking Well About Solar Geoengineering | The Salata Institute at Harvard University
“Debates about solar geoengineering often move quickly to questions about whether the technology should be researched or eventually deployed. But those questions cannot be answered adequately if they are poorly framed. In this talk, Britta Clark, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program, examines several recurring errors in public and academic discussions of solar geoengineering. By bringing these errors into view, she aims to clear the way for a more precise, productive, and honest debate over the role of solar geoengineering in the energy transition.”
Throwing Shade at Global Warming: Risks & Reality of Planetary Sunshades with Ross Centers | Climate Chat
“In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller interviews Planetary Sunshade Institute’s Board Member and former Executive Director, Ross Centers, on the science, risks, and reality of using giant space-based sunshades located between the Sun and the Earth to reduce global warming.”
Playlist: Solar Radiation Management Annual Meeting (2026) | Simons Foundation
“The Solar Radiation Management program seeks to communicate the research process, progress and findings of the Simons-funded work on understanding the fundamental processes, uncertainties and potential impacts of strategies for solar radiation management.”
Daniel Harrison - Australian Marine Cloud Brightening for Coral Reef Conservation | Healthy Planet Action Coalition
“Dr. Daniel Harrison is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University in Australia. He is Chief Investigator for the Cooling and Shading Subprogram of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) and the Marine Cloud Brightening in a Complex World project through the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).
In this recording describes his team’s research into the use of Marine Cloud Brightening to reduce coral bleaching. This project has a lead role in advancing the governance and technology of MCB.”
Solar radiation modification: a public dialogue | Sciencewise
“What does the UK public think about solar radiation modification (SRM) – proposed ways of cooling the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space?
In this film, participants, specialists and the team behind the dialogue share their experience of deliberating on one of the most complex questions in climate science – and what that process revealed about how the public weighs up the potential benefits, risks and ethics of SRM.
The dialogue, co-commissioned by UKRI’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Sciencewise, brought together 52 people from across the UK. Over more than 17 hours of workshops and online sessions between September and October 2025, they heard from 19 specialists and deliberated in depth on this complex and emerging area of climate science.
Their findings – including six principles they believe should guide SRM research – provide evidence that can inform how researchers, funders and policymakers think about SRM.”
Cambridge Elements | Building Capacity for Public Engagement on Solar Geoengineering | UC Center for Public Engagement with Science
“Video abstract for the third volume in the Cambridge Elements series on Public Engagement with Science. In this video abstract, authors Sikina Jinnah, Zachary Dove, and Shuchi Talati give an overview of their Element, Building Capacity for Public Engagement on Solar Geoengineering.”
“Exploring climate interventions at the science-policy interface” | World Climate Research Programme
“This webinar brings together leading voices to bridge the often fragmented dialogue between scientific research and policy implementation in climate intervention. Through three expert talks and an interactive discussion, participants explore how knowledge can be effectively exchanged across science, policy, and practice to support informed climate action.”
2026 Frontiers in Climate Systems Engineering | UChicago Climate Systems Engineering initiative - Playlist
“On May 18 and 19, 2026 the Climate Systems Engineering initiative (CSEi) hosted a conference to advance the understanding of climate engineering through rigorous analysis and open debate.”
How could the first decade of solar geoengineering unfold? | SRM360
“Join SRM360 for a live discussion on what the first ten years of solar geoengineering could look like, and how it might unfold.
An expert panel featuring Holly Buck , Edward Parson, and Cynthia Scharf will discuss:
– Under what conditions might solar geoengineering be deployed – and how soon might that be?
– What risks and challenges could the world face in the early stages of deployment?
– What could governments and organisations do now to reduce those risks?”
[Co-CREATE Forum] SRM Research Governance: An Introduction from the Co-CREATE Project | Climate Strategies
“Climate change is worsening fast, and some researchers are exploring Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) as a possible way to temporarily cool the planet. With research funding from governments and philanthropies growing, commercial actors entering the space, and field experiments multiplying, this public panel offers an accessible introduction to SRM and the governance challenges this topic presents. A panel of interdisciplinary experts from across the Co-Create project will introduce the different dimensions of a responsible governance approach for SRM research, before opening up for audience questions. The session will touch on the science, societal viewpoints, international law, governance guidelines and ethics that will be explored in more detail throughout the rest of the conference.”
[Co-CREATE Forum] Opening Plenary: How Do Principles and Guidelines Support Decision-Making? | Climate Strategies
“Principles and Guidelines: what are they, and how do they support decision-making? Contributions from a research funder, lawmaker, researcher, and civil society.
Speakers:
• Matthias Honegger (Senior Research Consultant, Perspectives Climate Research)
• Lili Fuhr (Director – Fossil Economy Program, Center for International Environmental Law)
• Manon Simon (Lecturer, University of Tasmania)
• Shuchi Talati (Founder & Executive Director, The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering)
• Billy Williams (Executive Vice President – Ethics and Organizational Advancement, American Geophysical Union)”
[Co-CREATE Forum] Closing plenary: Visual Synthesis & Path Forward | Climate Strategies
“In this livestreamed session, will mark the close of the Co-CREATE Forum. Hosted by Matthias Honegger (Senior Research Consultant, Perspectives Climate Research), with the participation of conference participants.”
Plan C for Civilization: Film Screening and Panel | Columbia Business School
“Plan C for Civilization tackles the promise and peril of solar geoengineering with exclusive verite access to its protagonist David Keith and the SCoPEx project, as well as the rogue geoengineers of Make Sunsets. From Bangladesh to Nevada, solar geoengineering is emerging after more than 60 years in the shadows, and with it, a new chapter of the climate change saga. After the film screening, V. Faye McNeill (Chemical Engineering) and Gernot Wagner (Columbia Business School) had a discussion with the documentary filmmaker Ben Kalina (Mangrove Media LLC). This session was moderated by Vincent Sandow-Straesser, ’26CCS.”
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