Integrity Score 120
No Records Found
No Records Found
No Records Found
Geoengineering is the deliberate large-scale alteration of the earth’s environment to mitigate climate change. It is one of the quickest ways to reduce the warming of a region or globally.
One of the most essential geoengineering options is Solar Radiation Management (SRM). SRM aims at reflecting inbound sunlight back into space, reducing the amount of heat absorbed by the earth and lowering global temperatures. Its techniques involve:
i) Stratospheric (20 to 50 kms) aerosols injection — the spraying of small, reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect some sunlight before it reaches the earth.
ii) Albedo enhancement aimed at increasing the reflectiveness of clouds or the land surface so that more of the sun’s heat is reflected back to space.
iii) Space mirrors blocking a small proportion of sunlight before it reaches the earth.
Solar geoengineering can cool the planet rapidly within 1-2 years and is estimated to cost much less than the conventional climate mitigation techniques through renewable energy, energy efficiency, etc.