Could Solar Climate Intervention Buy the World Some Time?

Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest assessment report. The news is not good, which makes it somber reading on this year’s Earth Day. Scientists warn that critical components of the Earth system may be approaching tipping points, and that crossing these thresholds could generate sudden and irreversible changes that themselves increase warming. Given this trajectory, what else might we do? Some scientists and policymakers are contemplating an unconventional approach to limit warming, called solar climate intervention. Kelly Wanser, the executive director of SilverLining, joins the show to unpack the idea of solar climate intervention and the research efforts happening both in the United States and internationally.