Explainer-Can solar geoengineering stop global warming?

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 58 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 26%
  • Publisher: 66%

Singapore Headlines News

Singapore Latest News,Singapore Headlines

As the world struggles to renounce its burning of fossil fuels, scientists are studying whether atmospheric geoengineering could help limit warming and avert climate catastrophe.

One potential method, solar radiation management , seeks to reflect the sun's rays back into space, with the most well-known proposal being to blast sulphur dioxide - a coolant - into the higher reaches of the atmosphere.

U.S.-based start-up Make Sunsets, one of the few commercial ventures involved in the sector, released two weather balloons containing sulphur dioxide in Mexico last year, prompting the Mexican government to ban the activity in January. Some other projects have been cancelled as a result of public opposition, including a Harvard University and Swedish Space Corporation venture in 2021.

They said in a letter published in February that it was unlikely that carbon emissions could be reduced or removed quickly enough to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius and that SRM interventions could be made available when necessary to avert climate tipping points. Critics point to models that show SRM could disrupt monsoons and cause droughts in Africa and Asia. Others say it could also slow the recovery of the ozone layer or lead to a dangerous spike in acid rain.

"It is important people understand that SRM technologies ... do not solve the climate crisis because they do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions nor reverse the impacts of climate change," said Andrea Hinwood, the UNEP's chief scientist.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in SG

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Pulau Ubin to derive up to 95 per cent of electricity needs from solar powerThe testbed may provide one future solution to Singapore's energy needs. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

A look at Pulau Ubin's change from diesel to renewable energyMost of Pulau Ubin's main village now runs on solar power, accounting for more than 90 per cent of its energy needs. That's thanks to an expanded power grid designed to shift the island's reliance on diesel, to renewable energy. Chloe Choo with more.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

MAS to test accepting QR codes from different payment schemes through single FIpstrongA single financial institution will help unlock local and global payment.
Source: SBRMagazine - 🏆 13. / 51 Read more »

Pulau Ubin to derive up to 95 per cent of electricity needs from solar powerThe testbed may provide one future solution to Singapore's energy needs. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

Man says the woman he’s dating for few weeks expects him to pay for everything, including shoppingHe asked netizens if it would be rude of him to stop paying for her expenses and distance himself from her.
Source: IndependentSG - 🏆 2. / 72 Read more »