Microsoft’s billionaire founder Bill Gates is financially backing the development of sun-dimming technology that aims to spray calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dust into the atmosphere to block the sun, triggering a global cooling effect.
Dubbed Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), the project was launched by Harvard University scientists with the goal of offsetting the warming effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting more solar radiation (sunlight) back into space. However, scientists said the program is controversial and long-term research into the efficacy of solar geoengineering has been stalled for years due to the enormous risk the project poses to the planet.
Now, the US and European scientists said they are calling off the controversial balloon test flight that was to take place in Sweden’s far north in June. In an announcement last week, the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) released a statement saying that the SCoPEx will not go ahead as planned in June.
The SSC said it had canceled the flight — part of research to better understand the controversial idea of blocking the sun to fight climate change — after an outcry from environmentalists and others. SSC said:
“Climate change and its consequences is one of the greatest challenges we face on our planet. Research within this field is therefore important, and many of the experiments that are being conducted onboard balloons and rockets from Esrange Space Center contribute to such research… However, the scientific community is divided regarding geoengineering, including any related technology tests such as the planned technical balloon test flight from Esrange this summer.”
Below is SSC full statement.
“No technical test flight for SCoPEx from Esrange
Climate change and its consequences is one of the greatest challenges we face on our planet. Research within this field is therefore important, and many of the experiments that are being conducted onboard balloons and rockets from Esrange Space Center contribute to such research.
To that end, the purpose of the SCoPEx project as such fits well into SSC services and mission to help earth benefit from Space.
However, the scientific community is divided regarding geoengineering, including any related technology tests such as the planned technical balloon test flight from Esrange this summer.
SSC has had dialogues this spring with both leading experts on geo-engineering and with other stakeholders, as well as with the SCoPEx Advisory Board. As a result of these dialogues and in agreement with Harvard, SSC has decided not to conduct the technical test flight planned for this summer.
Whether or not research on geoengineering should be conducted is an important discussion that should continue within the scientific community, as well as with other stakeholders and the general public. SSC welcomes such a broad societal discussion on this important matter.”
Below is a video overview of Bill Gate’s Solar Geoengineering project.
