The battle over blocking the sun

i​lluminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Foreign Affairs or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: As global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions falter, interest in solar geoengineering, specifically Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), is growing
• This controversial technique, which aims to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight away from Earth, faces significant opposition and lacks global governance

🔭 The context: Solar geoengineering, once a fringe idea, is gaining traction as the world struggles to meet the Paris Agreement targets
• Despite its potential to counteract warming, SAI could cause unintended disruptions to global climate patterns, posing severe risks

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Unregulated SAI efforts could destabilize global climates, disrupt ecosystems, and divert attention from essential emission reduction strategies
• Without international rules, unilateral actions could exacerbate climate crises and trigger conflicts

⏭️ What's next: The urgent need for a global governance framework for SAI is clear, with suggestions to model it on existing treaties like the Montreal Protocol
• International dialogue and consensus are necessary to prevent dangerous, uncoordinated deployments

💬 One quote: "The biggest risk posed by SAI is that it easily could be undertaken unilaterally, with little or no consultation with affected parties.”

📈 One stat: The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo lowered global temperatures by about 0.5 degrees Celsius for over a year by injecting 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere

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