Geo-Engineering wins public backing says poll
A study across North America and Britain has found that the public want more research into geo-engineering solutions to climate change.
A study across North America and Britain has found that the public want more research into geo-engineering solutions to climate change. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found 72% of those polled considered ‘solar radiation management’ a viable option for climate strategy. Solar radiation management would involve reflecting the suns energy back into space.
"Deliberate large-scale engineering to reduce or offset climate change driven by greenhouse gases... comprises an array of techniques that can broadly be divided into two very different approaches: carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management (SRM)," said the researchers. "Most SRM techniques act by increasing the albedo of the atmosphere through methods such as the injection of sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere where they would reflect some solar energy back to space, lowering the global temperature."
The study, based on just over 3,000 respondents via the internet, also suggested that the public though the climate system too complicated to fix with just one strategy. They did however, say that it was an ‘easy way out’ and not a long term option. It is though to be the first study to look into public attitude to geo-engineering, rather than mitigation and adaptation options.
Recently, projects such as the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (Spice) project have garnered public attention with their announcement of small scale trials. Some feel that the possible negatives associated with such projects have not been communicated well.