The UK’s 56.8 million pounds plan to cool the Earth – a sci-fi vision becoming reality! Do you know, the temperature of Earth is rising by an average of 0.11° Fahrenheit per decade since 1850? 2024 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850. Heatwaves are growing stronger and more frequent, and ocean temperature and sea levels are climbing too. Hence, the UK has decided to take bold action by launching one of the largest government-funded geoengineering research programmes in the world.
The Geoengineering project of the UK
In early 2025, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) of the UK launched the Exploring Climate Cooling approach, allocating 56.8 million pounds towards investing in solar geoengineering methods. Their main approach is to experiment with Solar Radiation Management (SRM) to reflect sunlight and combat climate change.
However, one of the most discussed methods in cooling the Earth is injecting sulphur compounds into the upper atmosphere, mimicking volcanic eruptions to dim the rays of the sun. The main goal of this project is to dim sunlight, to potentially slow or reverse the rising temperature trend of the planet.
Another experiment of marine cloud brightening might work in practice. However, the UK government has mentioned that all the experiments will be completed with full transparency and consultation with local communities. The UK also get funding of 11 million pounds from NERC (Natural Environment Research Council). This funding is fully dedicated to advancing computer modelling.
However, outdoor experiments have been considered a controversial approach by the UK government. Hence, the ARIA prepares to hand over the invested amount for the solar geoengineering research and development. The experiment has been argued to be harmful for the Earth because it treats only the symptoms of climate change rather than addressing its root cause.
Why Now? The Climate Crisis Context
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), in the last few decades the global warming has been increasing at an alarming rate. Different research explores that around 3.6 billion people are already living in highly susceptible climate change areas. It has been assumed that between 2030 to 2050, around 250,000 people will die per year due to the climate change crisis.
Climate change crisis has become a reality we are living current. The direct damage due to this crisis has been estimated to be around 2-4 billion dollars per year by the end of 2030. A recent heatwave in Central Asia was around 4°C hotter and three times more likely because of climate change.
Global average sea level has been increasing 8-9 inches since 1880. From recent satellite data and tide gauge measurements, it has been observed that the sea level rise rate is around 3.6 mm per year (0.14 inches/year).
All these emergency situations create urgency frames where it is highly necessary to adopt some effective steps to address the rising temperature of the Earth. We are in a critical window of opportunity where innovative measures must complement traditional climate action. Hence, the UK’s solar geoengineering push is currently important to explore SRM methods like reflective aerosol and could brightening that ultimately help to cool the planet temporarily while deeper solutions take hold.
What are the concerns?
Solar geoengineering, particularly SAI (Stratospheric Aerosol Injection), raises concerns about the major environmental uncertainties. Climate models show that SAI could lower the temperature of the planet, but might also degrade the ozone layer, disrupt the rainfall patterns and reduce precipitation in sensitive regions like the Sahel and India. Consequently, the risk of drought and food security increased globally, and the regional weather patterns might be disrupted.
Studies across Africa, Southeast Asia and South America highlight that SRM can decrease average precipitation, modify the streamflow patterns and flatten wet and dry seasons. The hydro-climatic extremes in Southeast Asia can be influenced through SRM by decreasing rainfall, especially during November-January, the northeast monsoon. Rainfall during the dry season might drop significantly, which can worsen the water shortage situation.
SRM can also create extreme events. For example, the heavy rainfall of R10 mm, very heavy rainfall of R20 mm and violent rainfall of R50 mm in the southern and central parts of the basin might increase.
Performing SAI at lower altitudes requires around three times more aerosol, which can increase the acid rain risks. Hence, the injected sulfates might degrade the ozone layer and intensify the risk of acid rains.
If the experiment of injecting sulfates into the air remains successful, then it will be a positive sign. However, if it fails, then the process needs to be stopped immediately, and that might result in a sudden termination shock. The temperature of the UK can rise four times faster than current states that ultimately devastate the ecosystem by gradual climate shifts.
Why do some scientists support it?
Some scientists have argued that researching geoengineering, especially SRM, is not only sensible but also important. One of the main reasons behind this support from the scientists is the accumulation of real-world data. Although our technologies have gained significant advancement over the past decades, we still do not have enough real-world data to make data-driven decisions. If any climate crisis occurred now and humanity comes to an end, we do not have enough power to conduct an emergency brake.
We need real-world data. It is possible through testing and modelling in the real world. We are already struggling with heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising sea levels. Here, the solar geoengineering experiment of the UK might help to gain real-world data. However, maintaining transparency during the deployment of sulphates in the atmosphere via flights might require robust transparency because the cost of failure might be larger than we think.
Approaches taken at the broader level to address climate change
Several approaches have been adopted to solve the issue of climate change. The first and most crucial strategy is the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions through global agreements. The Paris Agreement was signed in 2016, adopted by 195 parties at the UN COP21 (Climate Change Conference) in Paris. Countries have committed to limiting the temperature rise to below 1.5°C by adopting renewable energies like solar, wind and hydro.
Another core approach to reducing CO2 emissions in the environment is the nature-based solutions. Mangroves and Coastal areas store around 5-8 petagrams of organic carbon. Hence, the preservation of these forests might prevent annual damage of around 60 billion dollars in environmental damages.
Moreover, in Los Angeles, the canopy cover through tree planting and green corridors is increased by 25 to 40 per cent. This has reduced the heat-related issues by 66 per cent, saving lives during heatwaves.
Cool roofs and pavements have the potential to decrease outdoor temperature by 2-3°C and indoor temperature by at least 2°C. The GCCA (Global Cool Cities Alliance) has targeted to provide the world with cool roofs that minimise the climate change impact on global warming.
However, the geoengineering approach of the UK might offer a last-resort strategy to tackle climate change. The active experimentation of the UK on SRM techniques might have the potential to tackle the climate change problem by reducing the global temperature if the potential risks are addressed earlier.
