“Geoengineering is a false solution to the climate crisis that aims to address the symptoms of climate change but ignores and enables the root causes to continue.”
There are a variety of geoengineering techniques and technologies, each with their own ecological and social implications.
The main categories of proposed geoengineering techniques are solar radiation management (SRM), carbon dioxide removal and earth radiation management (ERM).
Solar Radiation Management “techniques attempt to reflect sunlight back into space, and include a range of ideas, from orbiting mirrors, tonnes of sulphates sprayed into the stratosphere, and modifying clouds, plants and ice to make them more reflect more sunlight.”
Carbon Dioxide Removal “proposals posit that it’s possible to suck carbon out of the atmosphere on a massive scale, using a combination of biological and mechanical methods, from seeding the ocean with iron pellets to create plankton blooms to creating forests of mechanical ‘artificial trees'”.
Earth Radiation Management “proponents suggest that negative effects of climate change can be offset by allowing heat to escape into space – for example, by thinning cirrus clouds.”
“Most support for geoengineering comes from a small group of elite engineers, and a handful of billionaires, joined by right wing politicians and many former climate deniers.”