Experts at the ongoing CoP-11 here have come out with out-of-the-box ideas to tackle climate change and global warming, and protect biological diversity. The ideas range from reflecting back sunlight into outer space through mirrors, to outing up huge sunscreens to keep the planet cool and healthy.
Geo-engineering, or deliberate tinkering of earth’s atmosphere to reduce harmful impact of rising temperatures, has emerged as a favourite topic among experts, as the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) report on proposed climate-related geo-engineering techniques shows.
Sunlight reflection method, or SRF, is being touted as one of the solutions to global warming and management of solar radiation. It aims to counteract warming and associated climatic changes by reducing the incidence and subsequent absorption of short-wave solar radiation, reflecting a small proportion of it back into space.
“SRF is expected to rapidly have an effect once deployed at the appropriate scale, and thus have the potential to reduce surface global temperatures within a few months or years. It however would not address the root cause of human-driven climate change arising from increased greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere,” the CBD report said.
Experts also suggested reducing the amount of solar energy reaching earth by positioning sun-shields in space, injecting sulphates or other particles into upper atmosphere and increasing the concentration of cloud-condensation over ocean areas to whiten clouds to reflect back sunlight.