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Solar Geoengineering Won’t Reliably Save Coffee, Chocolate or Wine, Study Finds

Researchers say cooling alone fails to stabilize rainfall, humidity or disease pressures, directing attention to local adaptation.

Overview

  • A peer-reviewed Environmental Research Letters study modeled 2036–2045 under two stratospheric aerosol injection temperature targets versus no intervention across 18 key regions in western Europe, South America and West Africa.
  • Although the approach reduced average temperatures, it did not consistently restore suitable growing conditions, with only six of the 18 regions showing reliable improvement.
  • Variable rainfall, shifting humidity and crop disease risk, together with natural climate variability, produced uneven and unpredictable outcomes across regions.
  • By linking modeled suitability to historical export data, the authors projected large revenue volatility, including nearly $60 billion between best and worst cases for France’s wine sector.
  • The team describes stratospheric aerosol injection as speculative and not a guaranteed agricultural fix, recommending locally tailored adaptation and more resilient farming systems.