News Climate

Solar geoengineering moves into the spotlight as climate concerns grow

Depending on whom you ask, it’s potentially dangerous, promising or uncertain

A photo of the setting sun. The debate over solar geoengineering is heating up.

The debate over solar geoengineering is heating up as Earth's temperature rises.

Ryan Noeker/500px/Getty Images Plus

By Carolyn Gramling

Earth’s average temperature is continuing to tick inexorably upward as the world’s nations stall at reducing their atmosphere-warming emissions. In the face of that grim future, strategies to try to turn down the planet’s thermostat are gaining traction. One strategy in particular — solar geoengineering, which aims to cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation back into space — may be having a moment in the sun.