Can we stop Earth from heating up? - Livescience.com

A high-altitude balloon mission would investigate a controversial way to reduce global temperatures.

In 2021, Earth reached a bleak milestone: The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere hit 150% of its value in preindustrial times, according to the U.K.

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, the world needs to decrease net emissions of carbon dioxide to zero by 2050.

But even if we were to achieve this goal, it wouldn't put a sudden brake on the temperature rise, because it takes time to see the effects of CO2 reductions on global temperatures; the negative impacts of global warming will continue for decades.

A research group at Harvard University thinks it might be possible to achieve a temporary reduction in global temperatures by tweaking the composition of Earth's upper atmosphere.

In the delicate balance that prevailed in preindustrial times, the incoming heat was exactly offset by the amount lost to space, ensuring average global temperatures remained constant.

The more carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere, the more the temperature rises.

In the long term, humans must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

The SCoPEx team wants to take a page from such eruptions by injecting particles into the upper atmosphere in order to lower temperatures. .

A2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report found that a fleet of high-flying aircraft could deposit sufficient aerosols to offset current levels of global warming.

But the aerosols would have to be replenished every few years, and the method tackles only one of the symptoms of climate change rather than addressing its root cause, the greenhouse effect.

At best, it's a stopgap measure, countering rising temperatures while countries simultaneously reduce carbon dioxide levels.

SCoPEx wants to make real-world measurements under carefully controlled conditions, allowing better calibration of the computer models.

The second big objection to SAI research is that governments and corporations that are already reluctant to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will latch onto SAI as proof that such reductions are unnecessary. 

That situation could negate any potential benefits of SAI..Even if the SCoPEx mission is successful and SAI is fully implemented, it will only supplement, not replace, carbon dioxide reduction