Overview
- The UK government has allocated £50 million for Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)-backed trials to explore solar geoengineering methods.
- Proposed techniques include stratospheric aerosol injection to reflect sunlight and marine cloud brightening to enhance cloud reflectivity.
- Professor Mark Symes of ARIA emphasized that all experiments will be 'safe by design,' with limits on duration, reversibility, and no toxic releases.
- Critics warn of potential unintended effects, including altered weather patterns, ozone depletion, and distraction from emission reduction efforts.
- The trials aim to provide real-world data on geoengineering's feasibility as a temporary climate intervention to avoid tipping points while decarbonization progresses.