The Albedo Accord: Book Proposal
rob...@rtulip.net
Dear HPAC members
The HPAC Steering Circle recently endorsed my request that HPAC support publication of a book I am writing on the proposal I have discussed for an Albedo Accord.
Here is the current status of the book proposal. I would greatly value your engagement with this activity.
Proposed Title: Sunlight Reflection - The Business Case for an Albedo Accord to Rebrighten the Earth and Cool the Climate
Author: Robbie Tulip
1. Purpose of the Book
To create a short, accessible, boardroom-ready book that makes one clear case: if we want a stable, insurable and investable climate this century, we must restore sunlight reflection, not just cut emissions. The book is intended as a strategic tool to:
- Shift how key industries think about climate risk
- Make the case for an Albedo Accord – a Montreal-style treaty framework for governing planetary reflectivity
- Support the advocacy, networking and convening work of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC)
2. Target Audience
Primary:
- Senior decision makers in:
- Insurance and reinsurance
- Banking and asset management
- Agriculture and food systems
- Shipping and logistics
- Energy and utilities
- Tourism and real estate
- Defence and security
- Policy makers and advisers working on climate, risk and security
Secondary:
- Philanthropists and foundations interested in high-leverage climate strategy
- Climate communicators and think-tank analysts
Tone: intelligent non-technical reader, time-poor, professionally risk-aware.
3. Core Thesis
- The world has not only warmed, it has darkened – losing reflectivity as ice and clouds retreat.
- Planetary darkening is now a major driver of additional warming, on top of greenhouse gases.
- On the time horizons that matter to business and governments, decarbonisation cannot deliver cooling or reduce risk.
- To restore a stable climate, we must govern sunlight reflection through carefully managed albedo restoration
- Reflect - a third pillar alongside Reduce (emissions) and Remove (greenhouse gases)
- An Albedo Accord modelled on the Montreal Protocol can cool the Earth in ways that are beneficial, fast, safe, equitable and transparent.
4. Concept and Structure (Draft)
A short book (around 35–45,000 words), structured for executives:
Draft Chapter Outlines
Introduction – The Planet is Going Dark
- When Warming Becomes Uninsurable
The business case for cooling. How insurance, banking, agriculture, shipping, energy, tourism and defence are already losing from unmanaged warming, why they share an interest in a governed cooling framework, and how they could be decisive in lobbying for an Albedo Accord. - Planetary Darkening – When the World Stops Shining
Simple explanation of albedo and why Earth’s dimming changes the risk picture. - Why Cutting Emissions Isn’t Enough
Lay explanation of climate physics and zero emissions commitment, framed in terms of boardroom timelines and risk. - Climate Politics – How We Got Stuck
How emissions-only thinking captured institutions and left industry exposed. - Governing Sunlight Reflection – The Albedo Accord in Summary
Clear description of what an Albedo Accord is, how it works and its guiding principles. - The Montreal Protocol as a Model
Lessons from ozone governance and how they translate to albedo. - Solar Geoengineering –Methods, Benefits, Risks
Plain-language overview of sunlight reflection methods and why governance, not technology, is the core problem. Key challenge to tell simple popular scientific story of why action to rebrighten the Earth is the most urgent climate task - Cooling First Makes Carbon Action Easier
How a cooler, more stable climate makes decarbonisation and carbon removal more achievable. - From Boardroom to Treaty Room
Implementation strategy and the case for an industry-backed pro-cooling lobby. - Rebrightening Earth
A short, hopeful vision of a rebrightened, re-stabilised planet.
5. Positioning and Differentiation
- Project was endorsed by HPAC Steering Circle December 2025
- Not another generic climate book or technical geoengineering text
- A strategic brief for leaders whose business models depend on climate stability
- Calls on affected industries to establish a lobby for the Albedo Accord as a public good, funding public advocacy, institutional development and design.
- Reframes climate from “net zero by 2050” to “cooling and risk reduction within current planning horizons”
- Connects physics, politics and industry strategy into a single story centred on the Albedo Accord
6. Publication Strategy
- Working with Leaders Brands, https://www.leadersbrands.ae/, a business book production company with expertise in editing, strategy, positioning and publishing
- Writing content in dialogue with members of Healthy Planet Action Coalition
- Aiming for fast publication, completing first draft February 2026
- Refine content and positioning for maximum appeal to executives and industry-focused publishers
- Leaders Brands support to include structural editing and coaching to keep the book short, sharp and readable, guidance on publishing route and launch strategy
- Establishing rebrighten.com as book website
- Summary to be included in Leaders Brands book ‘Unshakable Leadership’
- Professional cover and interior design that signal “serious but accessible”
- Support for endorsements, advance readers and targeted launch into:
- climate risk circles in insurance, finance and defence
- policy forums and business networks
The aim is not simply book sales, but a high-impact calling card that opens doors for conversations about an Albedo Accord and a new industry coalition for planetary cooling.
7. Fundraising
- Seeking funding to support production and publicise launch – target USD $20,000
- Fundraising can include through HPAC website donate page https://charity.pledgeit.org/HPAC
8. Unique Selling Proposition
- Introduces a completely new argument for an Albedo Accord, modeled on the Montreal Protocol.
- Positions climate cooling as a practical, business-oriented strategy rather than a political or ideological issue.
- Clear, non-jargony explanation of the planet’s rapid darkening and why reflectivity (“albedo”) is a missing pillar in current climate policy.
- Offers a balanced, bipartisan, non-tribal narrative focused on risk, stability and profitability.
- Bridges science and business strategy in an accessible, actionable way.
9. Book Description (Working Draft)
Climate science is settled, but climate policy needs a complete change.
Climate risk is now a direct financial threat, driving higher insurance costs, unstable markets, and rising operational risks across every sector. Yet most corporate climate strategies remain focused only on emissions and adaptation, missing a critical piece of the commercial puzzle: planetary reflectivity — or albedo, the Earth’s ability to reflect sunlight and stay cool.
In Sunlight Reflection, climate strategist Robbie Tulip reframes global warming through a business lens. He explains how the planet’s rapid darkening from melting ice, reduced snow cover, and evaporating clouds is accelerating warming faster than emissions alone — and how industry-led action may be the only thing that can change the trajectory.
The book introduces the Albedo Accord, a proposed treaty-style framework modeled on the Montreal Protocol, designed to responsibly govern sunlight reflection as an immediate climate stabilizer. This is a practical, risk-focused guide for executives, investors, insurers and leaders who need clarity in an increasingly volatile world.
You’ll discover:
- Why albedo loss is now a major driver of climate and market risk
- How unmanaged warming threatens insurability, solvency, and long-term stability
- What a governed approach to sunlight reflection could look like
- Why industry, not politics, may be the key to stabilizing the climate
- How we can re-brighten the Earth and restore planetary resilience
Clear, concise, and written for decision-makers, this book offers a roadmap for industries ready to step up, reduce risk, and shape a safer, cooler future.
- Writing Concerns
Focus areas include:
- Structure clarity
- Logical progression for business readers
- Simplifying scientific concepts without jargon
- Highlighting the practical business case
- Integrating “rebrighten the Earth” as a thematic thread
- CTA (Call to Action)
Primary CTA:
- Direct readers to rebrighten.com (new website to be built as the central hub for the book)
Future CTA elements:
- Email newsletter sign-up
- Link to HPAC discussion community / forum
- Substack updates
- Podcast episodes
- Invitations to thought-leadership events
- Strategic content for business and policy leaders
We’ll refine the CTA once the site is active.
- Websites:
First Draft - aim to be sent by end February 2026
rob...@rtulip.net
Thank you to those who have expressed interest and support.
Here is a google doc copy of this proposal where people are welcome to comment.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BElKIuunWZapEixZMZsfNCgWH6RFNBHlRHTRuU9GEOU/edit?usp=sharing
Regards
Robert Tulip
robert...@gmail.com
Hi RobertT
There is little between us about the need for albedo enhancement, so I'm likely to be very supportive of those aspects of the book that explain why it is now necessary. However, as you know from my earlier comments, I am really uneasy about the notion of an 'Accord' and even more so of one fashioned on the Montreal Protocol.
Before you invest too much effort in those aspects of the book, may I suggest that you examine in some depth both the role that an 'Accord' has in International Relations, and what it is about the Montreal Protocol specifically that you think maps so closely onto whatever you think your Albedo Accord might be expected to do.
If you do conclude that the Montreal Protocol is a sound basis for your Albedo Accord, you'll also need to explain how today's fragmented geopolitical scene, which also lacks a clear global climate leader, can spawn a latter day Montreal Protocol, when the model was a creature of a very different geopolitical reality.
My worry is that your case for albedo enhancement might be compromised by an incoherent International Relations framing.
RobertC
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rob de laet
rob...@rtulip.net
Yes, definitely. If you could provide some text that would be great, explaining the current and potential role of forests in restoring albedo.
Thanks
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Tom Goreau
Above Amazonia in the rainy season the entire sky is white with clouds up to the tropopause. Also Panama and Indonesia.
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rob...@rtulip.net
Dear Robert,
Thanks very much for this – I appreciate you flagging the International Relations workability concern so clearly. I agree that coherence is critical to success, and I see the process of establishing a narrow mandate for an Albedo Accord as serving that goal. Let me try to spell out more precisely what I mean.
The term Albedo Accord is not intended in a technical legal sense. I use “Accord” in the plain-language sense of an agreement that falling albedo is a problem that has to be fixed, requiring a process to develop governance arrangements to restore planetary brightness.
Functionally, that means a structured process that would coordinate funding, advocacy, research, governance, testing, deployment and monitoring of actions that affect planetary reflectivity, across nations, industries and existing institutions.
“Accord” is short, familiar, and alliterates neatly with “Albedo”. If a more acceptable title turns up that would be fine by me. The function is the critical point: albedo needs a dedicated governance home, rather than being treated as an unmentionable side-effect of other decisions.
I don’t mean “do Montreal again with different gases”. The Montreal Protocol provides a structural pattern and example of climate success that is highly relevant to albedo:
- global scope
- a clear and narrow physical target (ozone layer then, “albedo layer” now)
- science–policy machinery to review data and response
- commitment to close cooperation with affected industries
- a finance/fairness mechanism to ensure benefit for poorer countries
- legally recognised obligations with wide coverage
Those elements make Montreal an ideal top-down precedent in spirit and structure.
Where Montreal mainly worked to phase out specific substances, an Albedo Accord would primarily be enabling and coordinating: it would create a framework to develop, test and scale a portfolio of beneficial cooling measures in a transparent way, creating an evidence-based testing process to ensure all supported actions have strong net benefits, and ensuring any remaining harms are minimal and readily manageable. The emphasis is on unlocking and steering useful activity.
As you mention, Montreal was negotiated in a more coherent geopolitical moment with clear US leadership and relatively straightforward industrial interests. Today’s world is more fragmented, and climate politics are entangled with energy security, domestic culture wars and broader strategic rivalry. This is why I see the business lobbying strategy as critical, and also as distinct from the NGO path that Herb Simmens has suggested. I have previously mentioned the recent book The Wolves of K Street as a guide to effective influence, showing the power of industry to pour money into reforms that serve their commercial interests. As Alan Kerstein commented in his email of 27/11, “Serious (meaning lavishly funded) political messaging is now a highly specialized discipline.” That is the precondition for effective albedo action in current circumstances.
Alan also mentioned to me “Ezra Klein’s abundance agenda addressing the challenge of getting any novel initiative implemented, even if it is not controversial per se.” This critique is relevant here: public goods can get stuck in a thicket of planning rules, veto points and institutional caution. For me, that’s an argument for an Albedo Accord – a dedicated framework designed to cut through that procedural tangle in a legitimate way, so evidence-based cooling options can move from research to governed deployment, based on security and commercial imperatives.
A latter-day Montreal could emerge in today’s scene if a coalition of affected industries demands it, based on balance-sheet climate exposure (insurance, finance, agriculture, shipping, energy, tourism, defence), and works with a coalition of climate-vulnerable states.
Design processes could cooperate with existing fora – UNFCCC, WMO, IMO, World Bank/IFC, BIS and so on – with the essential goal of consolidating into a narrowly focused albedo institution. “Accord” is therefore a direction of travel, not a claim that we can recreate 1987.
The current taboo is a key driver. We are in the perverse situation that “mitigation” is defined in climate-speak to solely include actions that do not directly mitigate heating, while excluding those that do. Much of the climate-action movement operates with an unwritten rule banning the pursuit of albedo-enhancing measures because taking them seriously might undercut renewable energy subsidies. That moral-hazard logic has left albedo as an orphan variable – enormously important physically, but institutionally homeless.
This is now untenable. A key point I want to prove in simple terms is that albedo feedbacks are now adding more heating than the greenhouse effect from recent emissions. In that context, a focused institution whose mandate is solely albedo can become both physically necessary and politically more tractable. Necessary because carbon action simply cannot restore albedo. And tractable because, like Montreal, it would address a specific atmospheric crisis without trying to resolve every climate problem. In addition, a theory of change has strong grounds to argue that action on albedo will make action on carbon easier and better.
It is essential to start from interests: to mobilise industries whose commercial status is directly threatened by a darkening, more volatile planet, and to help them see that governed albedo action is in their own risk-management interest. This is a new argument, now excluded from mainstream climate politics. If insurers, banks, agribusiness, shipping, energy, tourism and defence begin to argue, in their own language, that a stable planetary energy balance is a precondition for solvency and investment, that will give governments a powerful, bipartisan incentive to back an Albedo Accord.
Once there is a visible commitment to do something about albedo, and a constituency that wants predictable, rules-based governance, everyone has a legitimate process to plug into and a strong incentive to keep it credible through agreed norms and institutions.
Regards,
Robert Tulip
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David Price
Hi Robert
I have read through the concept/structure of the book. I wanted to provide comments but getting access to edit the document by requesting access from you via Google seemed not the best way to do this.
I think it is a great idea and, done well, it could be an important contribution.
One area that I think the book should attempt to cover, but which is barely mentioned in the outline: a comparison of expected costs and benefits of SRM with those of CDR, and ERA (and other "options" including doing nothing). Clearly such a comparison is not trivial: it needs to be brief but based as far as possible on available knowledge, and convincing to skeptics. I think there is expertise to address this among HPAC members.
Regards
================
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unceded Traditional
Territory of the Secwépemc
People
"Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
Those who do study history are doomed to stand by
helplessly while everyone else repeats it."
The wrath of God will destroy those who destroy the Earth.
Rev. 11:18
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Aria Mckenna
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