According to a United Nations assessment, massive mirrors positioned to reflect sunlight back into space may be required to achieve climate targets.One of the radica

According to a United Nations assessment, massive mirrors positioned to reflect sunlight back into space may be required to achieve climate targets.

One of the radical technological ideas put out by the UN Environment Programme to use radical technology to prevent a climate disaster is solar radiation modification (SRM), often known as solar geoengineering.

The idea of using giant mirrors to reflect sunlight away from Earth as a way to combat climate change is one of several proposed geoengineering solutions to address the issue. While it is still a relatively new concept, there has been increasing interest and research in this area.

The idea behind using mirrors to reflect sunlight is to reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface, which would help to offset some of the warming effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This could potentially be achieved by placing a large number of mirrors in orbit around the Earth, or by placing them on the ground in areas with high levels of sunlight.

The United Nations has recognized the potential of geoengineering solutions like giant mirrors as one way to achieve the emissions reductions needed to meet global climate targets. However, it is important to note that such solutions should be approached with caution, as they could have unintended consequences and potentially cause more harm than good.

There are also significant technical and logistical challenges associated with implementing such a large-scale geoengineering solution. The cost of launching and maintaining a large number of mirrors in orbit would be immense, and the potential risks of failure or malfunction would need to be carefully considered.

In addition, the use of geoengineering solutions like giant mirrors could divert attention and resources away from efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more traditional means, such as transitioning to clean energy sources and improving energy efficiency.

"SRM is the only known technology that could be employed to chill the Earth within a few years," the report, written by an expert team of climate scientists, stated.

The carbon and water cycles could be somewhat countered by SRM, according to climate model simulations, but there may still be significant residual or overcompensating climate change at the regional scales.

The paper concluded that additional study is required to fully comprehend the environmental and societal effects of geoengineering technologies. Adding a lot of aerosols to the high atmosphere to obscure the Sun was one of the other technologies suggested in the report.

The idea of using space mirrors to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change has been floated before, most notably by former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who published a geoengineering plan for the Earth in 2019.

His plan to launch enormous collapsible space mirrors would cost $4.86 trillion and take roughly 20 years to complete. The UN stated that the objective of the 1.5°C Paris Accord has not been reached despite worldwide efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, stated that SRM should not be viewed as a replacement for the current emission reduction targets.

“It does not remove carbon from the atmosphere. Nor will SRM improve the environment or tackle the root causes of climate change,” she said.

Giant mirrors to reflect sunlight away from Earth may be needed to hit climate targets, UN says

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