Facebook Co-Founder Funds Research into using Sunlight Reflection to Cool the Earth

There is a new influx of $900,000 being given to scientists from Africa, Asia, and South America to study the effects of reflecting sunlight on cooling the Earth and mitigating the effects of global warming by reflecting sunlight. It was funded largely by the billionaire Dustin Moskovitz, one of the founders of Facebook and Asana, and his wife, Cari Tuna, an investor in Open Philanthropy, a venture capital firm funded by billionaires.

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A method used to mitigate global warming temporarily is to release aerosols like sulfur dioxide high in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight into space, thereby temporarily reducing the intensity of the sun's rays. (Sometimes it is referred to as solar geoengineering or solar radiation modification.)

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As the effects of climate change become more apparent, it is becoming more and more important to take this idea seriously because it has been around for decades. Volcanic eruptions have proven that the technique can work and that the technique can be effective, but there are significant risks associated with it, such as damage to the ozone layer, acid rain, and an increase in respiratory illnesses.

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Scientists across Africa, Asia, and South America will receive more than $900,000 from nonprofit research organizations The Degrees Initiative and the United Nations World Academy of Sciences to study solar radiation modification through a program called “The Degrees Modelling Fund.” Throughout the years, the Degrees Initiative has received funding from a variety of donors, but Open Philanthropy has been one of the largest donors. According to the co-founder and CEO of the Degrees Initiative, Andy Parker, all of the $900,000 disbursement announced Tuesday comes from that organization.

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In the first year of the project, the money will go to 81 scientists working on 15 solar geoengineering modeling projects in Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, and Uganda.

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Chemotherapy can be compared to the lesser of two evils

Researchers have begun to suggest that sunlight reflection's negative effects may not be as severe as climate change's in the future. In January, the United Nations-backed Montreal Protocol assessment report included an entire chapter addressing stratospheric aerosol injection for the first time. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has been coordinating a five-year research plan on solar geoengineering for the past five years.

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“Like anyone else who is sensible, at first, I thought it was a terrible idea to block out the sun when I first heard about the idea of doing so. The view didn't change much as time went by. I think it's a horrible idea," Parker told Trade Algo. "Still, if we don't cut our emissions far enough, it might prove to be less horrible than the alternative, which is letting the temperatures rise indefinitely if we don't use it."

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There are no proven solutions to climate change or global warming that can be achieved by reflecting sunlight. It is a relatively fast and inexpensive means of cooling the Earth temporarily. NASA tells us that the process has been proven to work: Several months after Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the average temperature in the whole world was about 1 degree Fahrenheit lower than it was before. A retrofitted plane would be able to release a large amount of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, in a similar manner to a volcano that releases a large number of aerosols into the atmosphere.

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"It's not the kind of idea I'd like to think about. Having to work on something like this isn't a pleasant experience. The problem is that it is potentially very important, it could be a great help, but it could also be disastrous," Parker told Trade Algo.

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The decision I have made can be compared to chemotherapy in a sense. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy are also horrible ideas. They are very dangerous, unpleasant, and risky. And no one would ever consider them unless they were scared the alternative would be worse. The same goes for solar geoengineering." he added. Parker has worked on several research projects at Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies at Harvard University, as well as published a 98-page report on geoengineering for The Royal Society, an independent science academy in the United Kingdom.

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Making sure at-risk countries are heard

Among Parker's goals with the Degrees Initiative is to make sure that scientists from developing countries in the global south are included in international discussions about sunlight reflection, he told Trade Algo in an interview.

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“As a result of their position on the frontlines of global warming, they have the most to gain if we can get this program to work well to reduce the impact of climate change," he stated. Developing countries, however, have the most to lose if the plan fails and there are nasty side effects, or if it is rejected prematurely when it could have helped when it could have had a great deal of impact.

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As a result, Parker said, without philanthropic donations, solar geoengineering research and decisions would be mainly relegated to those parts of the world that can afford the technology, such as North America, the European Union, and Japan, which often has the resources to do so.

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It was announced Tuesday that $900,000 will be provided as part of the second round of funding of this kind. A total of $900,000 was distributed by the Degrees Modelling Fund in 2018 to 11 projects in Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Indonesia, Iran, the Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, and the Ivory Coast.

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Grants of up to $75,000 are given out, of which $60,000 goes to salaries and $15,000 to tools a local research team would need, Parker, told Trade Algo. It is recommended that each scientific team submits a proposal for the grant money as part of its funding application, he said. In general, each team's task is to use computer models to predict the weather, as well as the impact of those predictions on the region - both when sunlight is reflected and not.

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“We can start to generate evidence by comparing the two about how solar radiation modification affects things locally,” Parker said.

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La Plata Basin water cycles research

As part of the Degrees Initiative, Ines Camilloni has been awarded two grants, including one from the Government of Argentina, as well as receiving funding from the Degrees Initiative. The funding will be used to investigate how solar radiation modification would affect the hydroclimate of the La Plata Basin, the fifth largest water basin in the world, covering parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, according to Camilloni.

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“Water availability is a very important factor in determining a lot of economic activities within the basin, such as agriculture, river navigation, and hydroelectric production. Therefore, any changes in the water cycle of the basin may have significant effects on the economies of those countries,” Camilloni told Trade Algo.

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Camilloni said that her research has so far demonstrated that there are areas of the La Plata Basin region that might benefit from sunlight reflection, while others may suffer from it as a result of its reflection. In some large rivers that power hydroelectric dams, there is a possibility of higher flows and increased energy production, which will be offset by a risk of flooding in other areas.

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Recently, Buenos Aires has become increasingly aware of sunlight reflection, which stirs strong emotions.

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“Solar radiation modification produces a range of emotions, from disbelief to fear. It is perceived as controversial by everyone," Camilloni explained to Trade Algo.

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Despite this, communicating is important because even those who promote research as a panacea for climate change do not see it that way.

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As Parker explained to Trade Algo, "This is not anyone's Plan A for dealing with climate risk, and whatever happens, we have to cut our emissions" no matter what. Having said that, people are finally starting to seriously address the question of what happens if we don't do enough with emission reductions if they prove insufficient to avoid the very dangerous effects of climate change. What are the options we have available to us? There are things, for example, solar radiation modification, that people regretfully have to think about, but it is necessary for them to do so."