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TOP 10 SRM UPDATES FROM JANUARY 2026
Impacts of the US withdrawal from the UNFCCC and the IPCC on SRM
President Donald Trump’s administration has announced the U.S. withdrawal from dozens of international organisations, including key climate bodies such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, saying they no longer serve U.S. interests. Experts warn this reduced engagement could have mixed impacts on SRM oversight.
Jesse Reynolds says it could weaken international cooperation, leaving a governance vacuum that U.S. rivals like China might fill. Olaf Corry emphasizes that U.S. withdrawal exposes SRM to geopolitical mistrust, complicating oversight. Nils Gilman suggests it might enable smaller coalitions to set standards. Michael Thompson sees the broader weakening of multilateral norms as the main issue, with SRM‑specific concerns like unilateral action or fragmentation being symptoms of that collapse, while Janos Pasztor cautions this move could slow climate mitigation, which could increase reliance on SRM and pressure others to govern it responsibly.
U.S. Lawmakers Target ‘Non-existent’ Geoengineering with New Bills
Arizona Republican Rep. Eli Crane introduced the “Atmospheric Study Act,” which would direct the U.S. Department of Energy to produce a federal report focused only on the potential negative impacts of geoengineering on human health and the environment. Crane, who has described climate change as “nonsense,” has no co-sponsors on the bill. Meanwhile, Iowa lawmakers also advanced a bill (SSB 3010) that would make cloud seeding and broader geoengineering practices Class D felonies punishable by up to five years or $10,245 fines.
SRM as an Emergency Toolkit
University of Exeter released a report that warns that global warming is accelerating faster than expected as “aerosol cooling” from air pollution, previously masking ~0.5°C of warming, rapidly declines, notably due to shipping regulations. It finds temperatures could reach 2°C before 2050, posing severe risks to social, economic, and financial stability. The report also criticizes flawed economic models and proposes a “Planetary Solvency” plan that includes urgent emissions cuts, carbon removal, ecosystem restoration, and research and debate on SRM as part of an emergency toolkit.
Uncertainty Database for SAI
Reflective has launched an Uncertainty Database for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection to help scientists, funders and policymakers prioritize research on key technical unknowns in the climate intervention. The database ranks uncertainties in aerosol behavior, climate and Earth system responses and engineering feasibility, forming the basis for a transparent SAI research roadmap.
The Guardian Series on SRM
The Guardian has published a series titled “It’s time to talk about geoengineering” highlighting debates over climate intervention. Craig Segall and Baroness Bryony Worthington argue that banning geoengineering research is counterproductive and call for planning. Ines Camilloni stresses any such use must include transparent, inclusive governance. Brent Minchew and Colin Meyer discuss technologies to slow glacier collapse, while Dakota Gruener and Daniele Visioni support cautious outdoor experiments.
2025 SRM Year in Review
Andrew Lockley and team published an annual report providing a comprehensive overview of solar geoengineering in 2025. It covers global temperature trends, the need for SRM, research and funding breakthroughs, policy debates, top stories, regulatory developments, media coverage, and more.
Call for Evidence
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a call for evidence to help guide its ethical review of solar radiation modification. The Council wants submissions on how to incorporate the interests of non‑human species, the environment and future generations into policy and decision‑making on SRM and other technologies. Open until 15 March 2026.
Re-thickening Arctic Sea Ice Project Begins Outdoor Trials
The Re-thickening Arctic Sea Ice (RASI) project, funded by ARIA, has begun outdoor trials in Nunavut, Canada, testing whether pumping seawater onto ice can reduce summer melt. Led by the Centre for Climate Repair and Real Ice, the project will run pumps over three winter seasons (2026-2028) to increase ice thickness and support the Arctic ecosystem. ARIA has shared a full overview of methodology, governance, oversight, and community engagement.
Request for Proposals
Reflective launched a new RFP to accelerate research on stratospheric aerosol injection, focusing on how SAI interacts with Earth system tipping points and influences climate impacts across human and natural systems. Total funding is $1.5M with awards up to $150K for 10‑15 recipients over a maximum 10‑month period. Proposals are due 2 March 2026. Live Q&A session will be held on 18 February 2026.
Call for Applications - SRM Fellow
Emerging Climate Frontiers has opened applications for a Fellow in Solar Radiation Management to spearhead African engagement in this politically sensitive area of climate governance. The role will focus on fostering inclusive dialogue, supporting research, and advancing justice-centered policy analysis across the continent. Applications close on 15 February 2026.
For a full recap of last month’s updates, check out our weekly summaries: WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5
And here’s an overview:
RESEARCH PAPERS & THESES
Sensitivity of Arctic sea ice recovery to stratospheric aerosol injection latitude | Authors: Hyerim Kim, Hyemi Kim, Daniele Visioni & Ewa M. Bednarz
This study shows that Arctic sea-ice recovery under SAI depends strongly on injection latitude, with polar-focused injections rapidly restoring ice through radiative and albedo effects rather than global temperature changes alone.
Enhanced radiative cooling by large aerosol particles from wildfire-driven thunderstorms | Authors: Yaowei Li, John A. Dykema, David A. Peterson, et al.
This study finds that pyroCb smoke forms unusually large, long-lived particles that enhance radiative cooling, suggesting current climate models may underestimate the cooling impact of large wildfires.
Time Left to Critical Climate Feedback/Loops: Annual Solar Geoengineering-PLUS, Pathways to Planetary Self-Cooling | Authors: Alec Feinberg
This study argues that late-century warming will be dominated by climate feedbacks and proposes targeted ASG+P pathways to slow feedback amplification while complementing mitigation and avoiding full-scale geoengineering.
Air quality impacts of stratospheric aerosol injections are likely small and mainly driven by changes in climate, not aerosol settling | Authors: Cindy Wang, Daniele Visioni, Glen Chua, and Ewa M. Bednarz
Study finds that SAI at 1.5 °C yields only modest, uneven public-health benefits, with small net mortality reductions that are outweighed by gains from conventional air-quality policies.
Higher efficacy of SO2 and accumulation mode-H2SO4 stratospheric aerosol injection: insights from CESM2 and GEOS-Chem with Advanced Particle Microphysics (APM) | Authors: Fangqun Yu, Gan Luo and Arshad Arjunan Nair
SAI radiative efficacy varies widely across models, with accumulation-mode sulfuric acid injections delivering substantially higher and more consistent cooling efficiency than SO₂, this study finds.
Impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection on the upwelling systems along the eastern boundaries of the southern tropical Atlantic Ocean | Authors: Folly Serge Tomety, Babatunde J Abiodun, Serena Illig, et al.
This study shows that SAI offsets most upper-ocean warming in the Angola–Benguela system but delivers uneven regional benefits, failing to fully restore large-scale circulation.
Climate Crisis and Solar Radiation Management as a Desperate Measure in Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future | Authors: Nithya Prabha, Sasi Rekha, P. Suganya
This piece uses Kim Stanley Robinson’s climate fiction to frame SRM’s real-world rise as a provisional yet disruptive response that promises rapid cooling while reinforcing existing power and governance tensions.
Beware the Toll Dodgers: defending the Tollgate Principles for governing solar geoengineering | Authors: Stephen M. Gardiner & Arthur R. Obst
This paper defends the Tollgate Principles as a necessary ethical framework for solar geoengineering, responding to critiques and warning against dismissing ethics in governance debates.
Impact on cloud properties of reduced-sulphur shipping fuel in the Eastern North Atlantic | Authors: Gerald G. Mace, Sally Benson, Peter Gombert, and Tiffany Smallwood
This study shows that the 2020 shipping sulphur cut reduced cloud condensation nuclei but complex cloud adjustments largely offset radiative impacts, highlighting aerosol–cloud feedback complexity.
A system dynamics framework for untangling solar radiation modification perceptions in the global south | Authors: Mauricio U.M., Caroline R.V., Sara Grobbelaar and Rhythm Singh
This study uses system dynamics and Brazilian stakeholder input to reveal how SRM perceptions in the Global South are shaped by mitigation deterrence, equity concerns, and feedback loops often missed in governance debates.
Constraining a Radiative Transfer Model with Satellite Retrievals: Contrasts between cirrus formed via homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing and their implications for cirrus cloud thinning | Authors: Ehsan Erfani and David L. Mitchell
Cirrus cloud thinning could produce either cooling or warming depending on ice nucleation regimes, underscoring large uncertainties and gaps in current cirrus representation, study finds.
Geoengineering and Global Security: The Geopolitics of Unilateral Climate Intervention | Authors: Rukya Zaman Juthi
In this study, SRM is examined as a fast, often affordable climate response that, without robust global governance, risks fueling geopolitical conflict, power imbalances, and deepened environmental and social inequities.
In the era of overshoot, are climate risk assessments fit for purpose? | Authors: James G Dyke and Mandi Bissett
This study argues that as warming overshoots 1.5°C, existing risk frameworks are inadequate to assess the complex risks of CDR and SRM.
MACE: Development of an Autonomous Solar Assisted Aircraft for Monitoring Volcanoes up to 30,000ft AMSL | Authors: Thomas S. Richardson, Matthew Watson, Duncan Hine et al.
This study introduces the UK MACE project, which uses autonomous zero-emission aircraft to sample volcanic plumes as natural analogues for aerosol-based solar geoengineering.
Economic assessment of SRM under socio-political and geophysical tipping dynamics | Authors: Francisco Estrada, Bernardo Adolfo Bastien-Olvera, et al.
SRM reduces climate risk only under unrealistically strict political and mitigation conditions, highlighting the dangers of termination shock, study finds.
Design of Hydrogen Powered High Altitude Conventional Tube-Wing Aircraft for Aerosol Injection in Stratosphere | Authors: Raymond J. Hogea
This study demonstrates the technical feasibility of a hydrogen-powered, high-altitude aircraft capable of long-endurance flight with heavy payloads for aerosol dispersion missions.
Design of Hydrogen Powered High Altitude Canard-Wing Aircraft for Aerosol Injection into the Stratosphere | Authors: Edward N. Hogea
This paper shows that a hydrogen-powered canard-wing aircraft could feasibly deliver large aerosol payloads to the stratosphere with zero CO₂ emissions.
Ship fuel sulfur content regulations may exacerbate mass coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef | Authors: Robert G. Ryan, Daniel P. Harrison, Lasse Johansson & Robyn Schofield
This study finds that 2020 shipping sulphur cuts increased solar radiation over the Great Barrier Reef, slightly raising sea-surface temperatures and exacerbating coral thermal stress.
Regulating the Unthinkable: Climate Interventions as a Test Case for Risk Governance | Authors: Alberto Alemanno and Masa Sugiyama
This article examines SRM and CDR governance, highlighting legitimacy, justice, and risk-management challenges as critical tests of collective decision-making under deep climate uncertainty.
Influence of Stratospheric Geoengineering on the Salinity Barrier Layer Seasonal Cycle in the Northeastern Gulf of Guinea | Authors: F. F. B. K. Ayissi, C. Y. Da-Allada, E. Baloïtcha, et al.
This study shows that SAG substantially limits barrier-layer thickening in the northeastern Gulf of Guinea compared with unabated warming, reducing seasonal ocean impacts.
Governing SRM Research for Legitimacy and Justice | Authors: Bennet Francis, Dominic Lenzi
This paper argues that SRM research requires specialised governance to ensure legitimacy and justice, as existing climate oversight frameworks are insufficient for its high-risk, globally impactful nature.
Could lessons from medical research ethics inform better conversations and governance for climate engineering research | Authors: Shaun D. Fitzgerald, Albert Van Wijngaarden, Ramit Debnath & Zoe Fritz
This paper highlights barriers to scientific research on climate engineering and proposes oversight, clear boundaries, and specialised review to ensure responsible and credible inquiry.
Potential Impacts of Climate Interventions on Marine Ecosystems | Authors: Kelsey E. Roberts, Tyler Rohr, et al.
This review shows that marine-based CDR and SRM could reduce warming but pose significant risks to ocean ecosystems, highlighting uncertainties and the need for region-specific, low-risk assessments.
Could Geoengineering “Respect Nature?” Paul W. Taylor’s Ethics, the Principle of Non-Interference, and Argument for a Limited, Reversible Geoengineering | Authors: Elliott Woodhouse
This study argues that, under strict conditions, geoengineering can align with Paul Taylor’s environmental ethics, showing the Tollgate Principles do not categorically forbid intervention.
Geoengineering Revisited in the Shadow of Climate Crisis and Technocratic Control | Authors: Radu Simion
This paper argues that SRM has been normalized without adequate ethical scrutiny, calling for governance grounded in humility, justice, inclusivity, and long-term planetary reflection.
A unifying theory of foreign intervention in domestic climate policy | Authors: Anthony Harding, Juan Moreno-Cruz
This study presents a framework showing that strategic differences between countries, not climate policies themselves, drive interventions, free-riding, and free-driving in climate governance.
Investigating the zero transmission problem in satellite solar occultation measurements in the context of possible stratospheric aerosol injections - Preprint | Authors: Anna Lange, Ulrike Niemeier, Alexei Rozanov, and Christian von Savigny
This study shows that satellite solar occultation can reliably monitor stratospheric aerosols under SRM, though high loads limit some wavelengths, with longer wavelengths remaining effective.
Deployment Strategy Shapes the Polar Climate Response to Marine Cloud Brightening - Preprint | Authors: Erin J. Emme, Chih-Chieh Chen, Hannah Horowitz
This study finds that MCB is most effective for polar sea-ice restoration when deployed seasonally in the same hemisphere, with bilateral deployment enhancing Antarctic outcomes without major disruptions.
Morphology-Conditioned Susceptibility of Marine Stratocumulus Clouds Suggests Weak Marine Cloud Brightening Potential - Preprint | Authors: Tom Goren, Goutam Choudhury, and Graham Feingold
This study shows that marine stratocumulus cloud responses to droplet changes depend on cloud morphology, highlighting the importance of morphology-aware assessments for MCB.
Dust Suppresses Aerosol First Indirect Effects in Marine Warm Clouds over the North Atlantic Ocean - Preprint | Authors: Satyendra Pandey, Adeyemi Adebiyi, Yang Lian, V Vinoj, Xue Zheng
This study finds that Saharan dust modifies warm marine clouds by increasing droplet size and weakening cloud cooling effects, producing a net positive radiative forcing.
Robust assessment of Solar Radiation Modification risks and uncertainties must include shocks and societal feedbacks - Preprint | Authors: Benjamin M. Sanderson, Susanne Baur, et al.
This paper introduces the SRMP framework, showing that rapid SRM responses and event-driven risks make conventional, static climate scenarios inadequate for policy and risk assessment.
Morphology-Conditioned Susceptibility of Marine Stratocumulus Clouds Suggests Weak Marine Cloud Brightening Potential - Preprint | Authors: Tom Goren, Goutam Choudhury, and Graham Feingold
This study shows that marine cloud brightening effects depend strongly on stratocumulus cloud morphology, as droplet, water, and albedo responses vary across cloud types.
Aluminum Oxide and Calcium Carbonate: Potential Alternative Particles for Applications in Solar Geoengineering - Preprint | Authors: Eliana Linder and Sophia Zouak
This paper shows that calcium carbonate and aluminum oxide can reflect solar radiation in the lower stratosphere, with effectiveness depending on particle type, mass, and humidity.
Aerosol Forcing Is Negligible in AR6 Due to a Smaller Diagnosed ERF: Evidence from Two Independent Data Methods and SAI Implications - Preprint | Authors: Alec Feinberg
This study finds 2019 effective radiative forcing lower than AR6 estimates, suggesting limited potential for aerosol offsets and reduced risk of extra warming from declining aerosols.
Stratospheric ozone projections under sulfur-based stratospheric aerosol injection: Insights from the multi-model G6-1.5K-SAI experiment - Preprint | Authors: Ewa M. Bednarz, Amy H. Butler, James M. Haywood, et al.
This study finds that SAI causes modest global ozone declines, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, with risks varying by scenario and highlighting the need for multi-model assessments.
Sulfur, soot, and salt tracks: How good are ship tracks as analogues for marine cloud brightening? - Preprint | Authors: Michael Diamond
This paper shows that historical ship tracks differ from salt-based clouds, suggesting that marine cloud brightening efficacy may be underestimated due to changing aerosol compositions.
A Constructed Closure of the Bering Strait can Prevent an AMOC Tipping - Preprint | Authors: Jelle Soons, Henk A. Dijkstra
This study shows that artificially closing the Bering Strait can raise the AMOC’s carbon budget if timed correctly, but may backfire if the circulation is already weakened.
Cloud-resolving Simulations of Low Marine Clouds and Their Response to Aerosol Perturbations - Preprint | Authors: Ehsan Erfani
This paper links aerosol concentrations to marine stratocumulus cloud properties, offering a process-based framework to evaluate aerosol impacts and Marine Cloud Brightening effectiveness.
The Impact of IMO2020 on Droplet Number Concentration and Cloud Adjustments in the Southeast Atlantic Shipping Corridor - Thesis | Authors: Boss, Lili
This thesis shows that reduced shipping aerosols from IMO 2020 weakened cloud droplet numbers and Twomey effects, altering cloud radiative responses with implications for marine cloud brightening.
Studying Climate Intervention Scenarios With Data Science Methods - Thesis | Authors: Connolly, Charlotte
This dissertation evaluates SAI scenarios, using a machine-learning emulator to reveal atmospheric responses, risks, and overlooked assumptions in both global and single-actor deployments.
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WEB POSTS & REPORTS
The Conversation – Clouds are vital to life – but many are becoming wispy ghosts. Here’s how to see the changes above us
Cornell Chronicle – Scientists map key oceanic unknowns in climate interventions
Paul Gambill – You Can’t Focus Group Your Way to Permission
The Degrees Initiative – Latin American policymakers seek greater understanding of solar radiation modification
Politico (Opinion) – Betting on Climate Failure
The ARC – Thoughts on a safe climate future: Protecting against Arctic destabilization, a $70 trillion opportunity
SRM360 – What Does Trump’s Withdrawal From Climate Organisations Mean for SRM?
The Conversation – Climate engineering would alter the oceans, reshaping marine life – new study examines each method’s risks
Omnibus – Researcher in Geoengineering: A Worst-Case Scenario Has Now Become a Reality
HPAC – American Geophysical Union Poster – SAI Deployment and Risks to Human Civilization
EcoFlow – Geoengineering: Can Blocking Out the Sun Reverse Climate Change?
Inevitable & Obvious - Nature Abhors a Narrative Vacuum
El Pais – David King, chemist: ‘There are scientists studying how to cool the planet; nobody should stop these experiments from happening’
Make Sunsets – Effective Balloonism
The Conversation – Climate engineering: what are we talking about? What are the benefits and what new risks does it present?
CDA Institute – The Janus dichotomy of solar geoengineering for the Canada–U.S. security relationship
The Guardian – A bid to clean up shipping industry intensified a coral bleaching event on Great Barrier Reef, study says
DSG – Colonialism, SRM, and Contending with DSG’s Privilege
Inevitable & Obvious – The Stabilization Framework
New Scientist – Termination shock could make the cost of climate damage even higher
Dungeon of Science – Strategic Approaches to Climate Risk in South Asia: Interview with Dr. Soumitra Das
Michigan Today – The value in planning ahead
Nature – As we breach 1.5 °C, we must replace temperature limits with clean-energy targets
ERR – Estonian climate researcher: Cleaner air might contribute to faster warming
LinkedIn – What does a board game tell us about the new age of climate overshoot?
Royal Society of Chemistry – ‘We exist to fund the stuff that is transformational’: Aria for chemist who wants to tackle key challenge of our age
Paul Hansel – Reflective satellites, meet dimensional analysis
Discover WildLife – Refreezing the Arctic, brightening the clouds so they reflect the sun’s rays – the crazy but serious geoengineering ideas that could save our planet
Global Newswire – Reflective launches Uncertainty Database for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Research
Trail Guide to a Gigaton – Things happen: Geoengineering for boy scouts
LootPress – West Virginia Senate Bill Seeks to Ban Unauthorized Weather and Atmospheric Manipulation
DSG – Holding Two Truths: Global Climate Questions and Local Climate Action
The Economist – Should the Arctic be refrozen?
Upon Further Reflection – Ensuring Continuity for Atmospheric Research
New Scientist – Termination shock could make the cost of climate damage even higher
E&E News by Politico – Iowa considers criminalizing cloud seeding, geoengineering
The ARC: Thoughts on a safe climate future – Beasts of Burden Meet Climate Interventions: Rebuilding an ice-age ecosystem with millions-of-year-old technology
Inevitable & Obvious – How Do You Shift an Overton Window?
SRM360 – Towards a Roadmap for Sunlight Reflection Research
Reflective – Explore technical uncertainties in SAI research
The Atlantic – The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ Could Flood the Earth. Can a 50-Mile Wall Stop It?
LinkedIn – Cooling the Planet: What Business Leaders Need to Know About Geoengineering
Solar Geo-what? – Dig into cooling the planet (Ben Kalina)
E&E News by Politico – Republican introduces bill to study only negative effects of geoengineering
Janos Pasztor – Impacts of the US withdrawal from the UNFCCC and the IPCC
The Guardian – It’s time to talk about geoengineering
The Guardian – We can safely experiment with reflecting sunlight away from Earth. Here’s how | Dakota Gruener and Daniele Visioni
The Guardian – Some want to ban vital geoengineering research. This would be a catastrophic mistake | Craig Segall and Baroness Bryony Worthington
The Guardian – We study glaciers. ‘Artificial glaciers’ and other tech may halt their total collapse | Brent Minchew and Colin Meyer
The Guardian – If geoengineering is ever deployed in a climate emergency, transparency is key | Ines Camilloni
UChicago Magazine – To the skies
Financial Times – Letter: Climate priority is to curb near-term temperatures
InsightAI – The $60 Million Race to “Shade the Sun” Responsibly
Jacobin – Capitalists Want You to Stop Worrying About Climate Change
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs – Arctic Climate Interventions: A Climate Justice Challenge
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries – Parasol Lost: Recovery plan needed
Solar Geoengineering Updates – Solar Geoengineering in 2025: Rays of Hope, Clouds of Doubt
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BOOK
The Politics of Geoengineering: Perspectives from the Social Sciences
This book provides the first comprehensive social science analysis of geoengineering, examining the political, legal, economic, and societal dimensions of CDR and SRM. Through SWOT and regional perspectives, it explores governance, ethical, and geopolitical risks, offering policymakers and scholars practical frameworks to navigate the “risk versus risk” dilemma of climate intervention.
CHAPTERS
Chapter 01: Geoengineering has shifted from theory to contested policy, with technology outpacing governance. The analysis highlights political, legal, economic, and justice dimensions and calls for urgent global oversight.
Chapter 2 examines Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) as geoengineering, analyzing CO2 extraction, storage, and conversion, with SWOT insights on techniques and implications for sustainable climate action.
Chapter 3 explores Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) to reflect sunlight and curb warming, analyzing stratospheric, space-based, and ground methods with a SWOT assessment of their potential.
Chapter 4 covers CDR and SRM as climate interventions, highlighting their costs, risks, and governance challenges, and stresses that international cooperation is key to their safe and effective deployment.
Chapter 5 reviews solar geoengineering research and governance in the Asia-Pacific, highlighting North-South disparities, public perceptions, and the need for inclusive, globally coordinated discussions.
Chapter 6 examines CDR in Africa, assessing its climate potential, human rights risks, and how the African Union’s legal framework could guide safe, rights-based geoengineering.
Chapter 7 explores geoengineering’s role in protecting biodiversity, highlighting risks of CDR and SRM, potential ecological impacts, and the need for strong governance to safeguard ecosystems and climate goals.
Chapter 8 covers international law’s role in geoengineering governance, highlighting the need for harmonized, multilateral standards, inclusive frameworks, and science-based legal solutions for effective oversight.
Chapter 9 explores links between solar geoengineering and ecocide law, arguing that ecocide frameworks, combined with polycentric governance, could guide legal oversight and protect the global commons.
Chapter 10 examines space-based geoengineering as a potential climate solution, highlighting the need for careful legal regulation under the Outer Space Treaty and possible updates to international space law.
Chapter 11 highlights the uncertain future of geoengineering, emphasizing the urgent need for anticipatory, agile governance grounded in shared human values to guide research, deployment, and global cooperation.
Chapter 12 explores public engagement with geoengineering, highlighting challenges, trends, and empirical insights from Portugal, and calls for institutionalized participation, a People’s Charter, and serious policymaker attention.
Chapter 13 uses science fiction to explore terraforming, examining how novels like Robinson’s Mars trilogy and Weir’s Artemis highlight decision-making, governance, corporate influence, and identity in interplanetary colonization.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
11 February | United States - C4E PJAC: PLAN C for CIVILIZATION Screening
9-13 March 2026 | Kyoto, Japan - CMIP Community Workshop (CMIP26)
03-08 May | Vienna, Austria & Online - EGU26
13-15 May | University of Nottingham - IAA Planetary Sunshade Workshop by Planetary Sunshade Foundation
17-19 March | Tokyo, Japan - Sixteenth GeoMIP 2026 Meeting by Alan Robock and Daniele Visioni
18 March | University of Cambridge - Climate Repair: Hope or Hype? by Centre for Climate Repair
28 – 29 May | Belgium - International Forum on Solar Radiation Modification Research Governance by Co-Create
02-04 June | Rwanda - The IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change 2026 - Uniting Space and Earth for Climate Resilience
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
Solar Geoengineering Events Calendar
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PODCASTS
Malaria Trends and SRM - Hussain | Reviewer 2 does geoengineering
In this episode, @geoengineering1 interviews Athar Hussain, physicist and professor of atmospheric science at COMSATS University, Pakistan, about his recent study examining how SAI could influence malaria transmission across South Asia. Using the VECTRI malaria model, the research compares an unmitigated high-emissions pathway (RCP8.5) with the GLENS-SAI scenario, which stabilizes global temperatures at 2020 levels, across seven countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
The discussion highlights that while SAI could reduce overall malaria transmission intensity across much of the region by lowering vector density, entomological inoculation rates (EIR), and case numbers, its effects are spatially uneven, with localized increases projected in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Nepal. The conversation also explores the public-health implications of these shifts, the potential risks and trade-offs of solar geoengineering, and the importance of region-specific strategies, local expertise, and international collaboration in addressing climate-related health risks.
Paper: Hussain, A., Shoaib, M., & Latif, M. (2025). Malaria transmission dynamics under climate change and solar geoengineering in South Asia: a GLENS-based assessment. Malaria Journal, 24(1), 439. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05666-2”
Inside ARIA | BBC Podcast
“ARIA is the UK government’s bold new bet on science and technology. Its mission? To chase breakthroughs so radical they could spawn trillion-pound industries and reshape everyday life.
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency was created to be fast-moving - exempt from the usual public sector bureaucracy. No slow funding rounds. No rigid procurement rules. Just speed, agility, and a mandate to take risks. It’s backed by MPs across the political spectrum - but is it a smart use of public money?
The idea came from Dominic Cummings, inspired by America’s ‘DARPA’ - the agency behind the internet, GPS, and personal computing. ARIA launched in 2022 and has already sunk millions into 12 audacious programmes: from designing crops with massively synthetic genomes to building robots on entirely new principles, and developing cutting edge neurotechnologies for psychiatric illness.
Evan Davis goes inside ARIA to meet the people steering this high-stakes experiment and explore the frontier science they’ve chosen to back. Can ARIA deliver world-changing innovation - or will it prove an expensive gamble?”
Comparing SRM and Opioids - Clark | Reviewer 2 does geoengineering
“In this episode, @geoengineering1 is joined by Britta Clark, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University, to unpack why solar geoengineering is increasingly compared to opioids. They discuss how this framing casts SRM as temporary “relief” from climate warming and why it raises concerns about potentially slowing emissions cuts. The conversation focuses on how climate models, policy debates, and public discourse can quietly shift expectations about how fast emissions reductions should happen once solar geoengineering is considered, even when people say it should not delay the energy transition. Together, they explore why this tension matters and what it could mean for future climate decisions.
Paper: Clark, B. (2025). Solar geoengineering, delay, and addiction. Climatic Change, 178(11), 209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-04059-3
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Brightening Arctic Clouds With Sea Salt | Marine Cloud Brightening | Remove and Reflect Podcast
“This episode covers a research paper that investigates the viability of Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) as a localized climate intervention to stabilize Arctic temperatures and preserve sea ice. By using three distinct Earth System Models, the study simulates the injection of sea-salt aerosols to increase the reflectivity of clouds over open ocean areas. The results indicate that while this method can effectively cool the Arctic and restore ice levels, the amount of salt required varies significantly between models due to uncertainties in aerosol-cloud interactions. Importantly, the simulations suggest that focusing this cooling at high latitudes creates fewer disruptions to tropical rainfall compared to other geoengineering methods. However, the authors emphasize that their work is an idealized modeling exercise and does not address technical feasibility, ecological consequences, or the governance challenges of such a deployment.”
Can we dim the sun to cool the Earth? | CGTN
“As global temperatures continue to rise due to greenhouse gas emissions, can we dim the sunlight to cool the Earth?
The idea may sound extreme, but solar radiation management, or solar geo-engineering, has already become a serious subject of scientific research. And it’s not just scientists—billionaires like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have also shown interest.
How viable is this concept in practice? What ethical, environmental, and global governance challenges could it bring?
Zhao Ying speaks with John Moore, a research professor at the Arctic Center, University of Lapland in Finland. From 2015 to ‘22, he led the Chinese geoengineering research program while serving as Chief Scientist at the College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University.”
The State of the Climate 2026 | Ep242: Zeke Hausfather | Cleaning Up Podcast
“How do we model the climate system? How warm will 2026 be? And can geoengineering be anything more than a bandaid?
This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with leading climate scientist Dr. Zeke Hausfather on the day the 2025 global temperature data is released. Despite a La Niña year, the planet has just experienced one of its hottest years on record — pushing us ever closer to the 1.5°C threshold.
Zeke explains why recent warming has accelerated, how declining air pollution may be unmasking hidden heating, and what disappearing cloud cover could mean for climate sensitivity.
The conversation ranges from the surprising accuracy of early climate models, the risks of rising nationalism, and what the U.S. withdrawal from international science means for the world.
They also tackle controversial questions: Are worst-case climate scenarios still plausible? Is geoengineering a dangerous distraction — or an emergency brake? And can carbon removals ever work economically at scale.”
Net Zero Speaks to Gernot Wagner | Planet Classroom Network
“Climate economist Gernot Wagner (Columbia Business School) briefs the world on 2025’s climate reality: what works now, what’s blocking projects, why geoengineering needs guardrails, and how to make net-zero credible and fair. A practical roadmap for policymakers, businesses, and educators seeking progress today.”
Clare Farrell – How to move from binary to systemic climate thinking? | Operaatio Arktis
“XR Co-Founder Clare Farrell sat down in an all-encompassing interview with OA’s Anni Pokela to discuss aerosols, James Hansen, approaches to climate intervention research and the knowledge base of international institutions as well as civil societies in the face of accelerating global warming.”
Can SRM Prevent Tipping Points? | Climate Chat
“In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller discusses SRM and its possible impact on various tipping points.”
Time Left to Critical Climate Feedback: Annual Solar Geoengineering-PLUS, Pathways for Self-Cooling | dfrsoft
Live Discussion: Could Solar Geoengineering Help Protect Coral Reefs? | SRM360
“Corals face a bleak outlook as climate change and ocean acidification worsen.
An expert panel featuring Daniel Harrison, Ken Caldeira, and Cheryl Harrison discuss:
– How climate change impacts corals
– If warm-water corals could go extinct
– The potential impacts and limitations of regional and global solar geoengineering”
What can engineering do for the climate? Centre for Climate Repair, Cambridge | Centre for Climate Repair
“Glacier protection, carbon capture, and working in the real world. With Prof Jerome Neufeld, Rishul Karia, and Dr Zeynep Clulow.”
Bad Idea #37 “1.5 degrees” with Kwesi Quagraine and Erle Ellis | WePlanet
“Is the 1.5°C temperature target helping or hindering climate action? In this episode of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, Mark Lynas sits down with his co-authors Kwesi Quagraine (climate scientist at NCAR) and Erle Ellis (professor at University of Maryland Baltimore County) to discuss their groundbreaking new paper published in Nature that proposes a complete rethinking of how we measure climate progress.
The team argues that global average temperature targets — the organizing principle of climate policy since Paris 2015 — are intangible, unactionable, and increasingly counterproductive now that we’ve essentially crossed the 1.5°C threshold. Instead, they propose the Clean Energy Shift (CES) — a simple, measurable metric that tracks how fast clean energy is displacing fossil fuels in real time.”
Science vs. Economics on Climate Change | Climate Chat
“In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller discusses how economic assessments of the risks of climate change differ greatly from scientific assessments.”
Shipping Fuel Regulations and Increased Coral Bleaching Risk on the Great Barrier Reef | Remove and Reflect Podcast
“This episode covers a research paper that investigates how international shipping regulations intended to reduce air pollution have unintentionally contributed to extreme heat stress on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. By lowering the sulfur content in maritime fuel in 2020, the industry decreased the presence of reflective sulfate aerosols that previously shaded the ocean surface from intense solar radiation. Scientists utilized atmospheric modeling to demonstrate that this aerosol reduction allowed more sunlight to reach the water, particularly during the hot, calm periods that precede mass coral bleaching. The study estimates that these cleaner shipping standards increased thermal stress on corals by approximately 5% to 10% during the 2022 bleaching event. Consequently, the findings highlight a complex conflict between improving air quality and protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems from accelerated global warming.”
How to Combat Climate Change in the System | Peter Mccarthy | TEDx Talks
“This talk by Peter McCarthy examines the complex and growing relationship between international climate law, particularly the Paris Agreement, and geoengineering. Drawing on his background as a U.S.-trained lawyer and climate law researcher, McCarthy explains how global temperature became the central metric of the Paris Agreement and why that choice matters. Using vivid, personal examples about how temperature can feel radically different depending on context, he shows that temperature is a deceptively simple but deeply complex target for governing the climate system.”
Doomsday Glacier and a Seabed Curtain | Climate Emergency Forum
“A bold new proposal aims to “hold back” the Doomsday Glacier. In this episode of the Climate Emergency Forum, Herb Simmens and Paul Beckwith speak with three leading voices behind the Seabed Curtain Project, which is exploring whether a seabed‑anchored curtain could slow the warm ocean water melting Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier and delay up to several meters of global sea level rise.
The discussion also tackles governance, ethics, and geopolitics: who should decide if such a climate intervention goes ahead, how the Antarctic Treaty System and Arctic communities might be involved, and why the team hopes their research either proves a curtain unnecessary—or delivers a clear recipe for future decision‑makers if it becomes essential. Stay to the end for Herb’s roundup of recent climate headlines.”
CSEi Seminar Featuring Erin Emme - Deployment Strategy Shapes the Polar Climate Response to Marine Cloud Brightening | UChicago Climate Systems Engineering initiative
“Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is a proposed solar climate intervention strategy that increases marine cloud reflectivity to cool Earth’s surface. While previous studies have examined its global temperature and precipitation effects, less is known about how MCB deployment strategy influences polar climate and sea ice.”
John Moore: Polar Interventions to Save the Cryosphere Must Have Local Winners | Healthy Planet Action Coalition
“Social-natural and indigenous-western science co-design of targeted interventions to conserve the cryosphere.”
Geo-Engineering with Stratospheric Sulfur Injection | Deep Tech Week
Lauren Zamora, UMD: To Arctic Clouds From Saharan Dust | Compass On Demand
“To Arctic Clouds From Saharan Dust: An Alumnus Career Retrospective”
Aerosol–cloud interactions are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate projections for the rapidly warming Arctic, particularly through their influence on the radiative properties of mixed‑phase clouds containing both liquid water and ice. In this talk, I will present a retrospective of my research on aerosol impacts on the environment, tracing a trajectory from PhD work at Rosenstiel on Saharan dust and atmospheric nutrient deposition to the ocean to my current focus on Arctic aerosol–cloud interactions. I will talk about how my training in marine and atmospheric chemistry with Dennis Hansell and Joe Prospero continues to inform my research approach. The presentation will focus primarily on recent developments in understanding Arctic aerosol-cloud interactions, including new satellite observational methods, community scientific priorities identified at a recent QuIESCENT international workshop, and new observations from NASA’s 2024 ARCSIX (Arctic Radiation-Cloud-Aerosol-Surface Interaction Experiment) field campaign. I will also discuss emerging satellite remote sensing approaches and recent work on polar mixed‑phase cloud thinning as a potential climate intervention strategy. I will conclude by briefly reflecting on career lessons learned that may be helpful for current graduate students, including managing research transitions, building diverse mentoring networks, and approaching complex scientific problems strategically.”
What is Global Cooling? - with Paul Gambill | Sebastian Manhart
“In this conversation, Sebastian Manhart and Paul Gambill delve into the pressing topic of global cooling and solar geoengineering.
They discuss the urgency of addressing climate change, the transition from carbon removal to geoengineering, and the moral hazards associated with these technologies.
The conversation also touches on the challenges of governance, the role of the private sector, and the importance of cultural engagement in shaping public perception.
Ultimately, they emphasize the need for open discussions and a shift in societal attitudes towards these critical issues.”
MEERTalk with Paul Gambill | MEER SRM
“The only permanent solution to Earth’s energy imbalance is removing over 1.5 trillion tonnes of excess CO2 from the atmosphere. In less than a decade, an industry has emerged from nothing: 700+ companies, billions invested, and real technology proving out. And yet for all that progress, we remain orders of magnitude behind the pace required to lower global temperatures before crossing catastrophic tipping points. If carbon removal can’t arrive in time—and the math suggests it can’t—what fills the gap? In this talk Paul makes the case that cooling interventions aren’t Plan B—they’re what makes Plan A possible.”
Solar Climate Intervention Virtual Symposium 14 (Dr. Lili Xia & Dr. Pat Keys) | Solar Climate Intervention Talks
“Dr. Lili Xia (Rutgers University, USA) : “Agriculture responses to Solar Radiation Modification: Connecting Broader Impact Studies”
Dr. Pat Keys (Colorado State University, USA): “Designing Scenarios for Exploring Unilateral Climate Intervention”“
Climate Intervention Virtual Symposium 22 (Miranda Hack & Goodwin & Overbeek) | Solar Climate Intervention Talks
“Miranda Hack (Columbia University, USA): “Engineering and logistical concerns add practical limitations to stratospheric aerosol injection strategies”.
Morgan Goodwin & Jeff Overbeek (Planetary Sunshade Foundation, USA): “Reflecting Sunlight from Space: Unique Capabilities for Climate Intervention”“
Let’s Brighten Some Clouds | ToSaveTheWorld
“Alan Gadian shares some memories of early Marine Cloud Brightening research by John Latham and Stephen Salter. Robert Tulip and Peter Wadhams have been major innovators in the field too.”
Greatly Accelerated Climate Warming with MORE Sunlight Hitting Earth’s Surface Due to Fewer Clouds | Paul Beckwith
“Essentially, we are experiencing “Global Brightening”. Over time, the amount of the incoming solar energy (shortwave radiation) from the Sun that reaches the Earth surface is rapidly increasing. The effect of reduction of aerosols (air pollution and sulfates) means that is less direct scattering and there are fewer low level clouds and thus more warming due to indirect effects, namely fewer cloud condensation nuclei. Essentially, the “Global Dimming” effect has been replaced now with “Global Brightening”.”
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