Supercomputer Will Help Decide whether to Block the Sun

The White House report follows an open letter by more than 60 leading scientists calling for more research into what is often called solar radiation modification, one method of altering Earth’s natural systems to fight climate change. European Union policymakers also issued a statement last week calling for an international assessment of the risks related to geoengineering.

“These technologies introduce new risks to people and ecosystems, while they could also increase power imbalances between nations, spark conflicts and raises a myriad of ethical, legal, governance and political issues,” the E.U. statement said.

Critics of geoengineering say using aerosols and other substances to reflect sunlight away from Earth could lead to unknown, disruptive weather patterns. They also contend that solar geoengineering could result in a global dependency, because temperatures could abruptly rise if the process is stopped.

The new supercomputer will allow scientists to build and run intricate models to assess the risks tied to geoengineering, Rasmussen said, adding that slight changes to the atmosphere’s composition could lead to large impacts not just on rainfall patterns — her area of study — but on entire ecosystems, including human communities.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report in 2021 urging scientists to study the impacts of geoengineering, which Rasmussen described as a last resort to address climate change.

“We need to be very cautious,” she said. “I am not advocating in any way to move forward on any of these types of mitigation efforts. The best thing to do is to stop fossil fuel emissions as much as we can.”

Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.