Can Space Mirrors Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe?
From giant mirrors to sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, geoengineering could offer solutions to the climate crisis
When presented with a problem, human creativity, innovation, and problem-solving always rise to the challenge. We fix things, we always have, and always will. Many argue climate change is another technological challenge that needs to be overcome and geoengineering is the technology to rise to the challenge. The idea is by manipulating the climate, we can reduce the Earth’s temperature; balancing out any increases from global warming.
It sounds extreme because geoengineering projects are extreme.
But a recent political breakthrough may make the need for geoengineering redundant. China recently announced a bold target to reach net zero emissions by 2060, which sounds great. After all, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
China’s announcement is a breakthrough, but it’s hardly a moment to celebrate. If anything, it provides an unsavoury picture of how bad things have become.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) argues we must limit global warming to 1.5°C to reduce the risks of climate change. The IPCC…
