Why billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or George Soros are obsessed with solar geoengineering

At the end of February, the Munich Security Conference took place in which George Soros spoke about the risk that climate change poses to humans, as well as what seemed to be the billionaire’s preferred method of dealing with it: lighting up the clouds over the Arctic. to reflect the sun’s energy away from the melting polar caps.

The plan that Soros is touting, for example, is one put forward by Sir David King, a former UK government chief scientific adviser in which a fleet of ships positioned around the Arctic could spraying salty water in the sky that would help form sun-blocking clouds.

He’s not the only billionaire who has recently taken an interest in returning the sun’s rays to space. Bill Gates, for example, backed a project by Harvard University scientists to test the idea of ​​spraying atmospheric calcium carbonate into the sky over northern Scandinavia in 2021 (the project was ultimately canceled after protests).

Jeff Bezoson the other hand, put the capabilities of Amazon’s supercomputer to work to model the effects of its plans for expel huge amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere during 2022.

The reality is that more and more figures of this type have expressed an interest in “solar geoengineering” – that is how it is known -, a really controversial idea with which environmental experts disagree.

The big risks of solar geoengineering

In a nutshell, solar geoengineering or SRM (solar radiation modification) refers to a speculative set of technologies designed to cool the Earth. Some of the techniques involved, such as the spraying of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, are already known to have harmful effects on the environment and human health.

This could limit some damaging climate impacts, yes, but aside from potential adverse impacts, would not go to the fundamental cause of climate change: the increase in greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat from the burning of fossil fuels, or some of the resulting impacts, such as ocean acidification.

More importantly, little is known about how it might affect weather patterns. Scientists say that the technology needed to penetrate the atmosphere and block out the sun is not complicated, since planes will spray sulfur into the sky at high altitudes, and this substance will condense, acting as a barrier that prevents or reflects part of the rays. of the sun.

This idea is theoretically possible and could protect the most vulnerable populations suffering from rising temperatures. Yet others warn that the risks could be great, since changes in the atmosphere can cause changes in weather patterns and lead to droughts.

Also, weaker solar radiation could reduce crops and cause starvation. Also there are concerns that if temperatures build up and then stop, the sun could trigger a catastrophic heat wave across the globe.

However, the manipulation of climate it poses less of a threat than blocking out the sun’s rays which other countries see as beneficial compared to the climate wars it could unleash.

Billionaires’ obsession with solar geoengineering

These experts say that perhaps some billionaires interested in the solar geoengineering are advised by people who urge them to think about addressing the climate change and global warming with an alternative plan B instead of solving the cause A of the problem: reduce the emissions.

Magazine Time warned that the scientific debate could be fueled by the flow of funds from these billionaires and that geoengineering may be attractive to them just to make a lot of money with a new technology while avoiding having to reduce their costs. emissions.

“There are probably other reasons why, if you’re a person with a net worth equivalent to the government budgets of some nations, geoengineering might appeal to you. For one thing, many of these people made their money in technology, and they’ve absorbed the spirit that neat engineering solutions are the solution to most of life’s ills”according to the magazine Time.