Climate Tipping Points and Solar Geoengineering

Tipping points are thresholds beyond which climate change may become non-linear, producing runaway impacts that subsequent emissions reductions might prove powerless to control. While the science of climate tipping points is immature, there is increasing evidence that some thresholds may be encountered in mid-century, particularly at the poles, which are warming much faster than the rest of the planet. A newly published paper suggests that solar geoengineering might prove the most practical tool by which humanity might fend off such near-term, high-impact tipping points. Lead author Wake Smith presents the case for a rapid acceleration of field research into this highly controversial climate intervention technique.

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