US President Joe Biden's plan to fight global warming by cutting sunlight could have disastrous unintended consequences, says an African climate advocate.
The Biden administration prompted widespread disbelief and horror over the weekend with the publication of a 44-page report outlining the Science Fiction-like scheme to use "geoengineering" to reduce the amount of the sun's energy that reaches the world's surface.
Options include Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) to reflect more of the sun's light away, marine cloud brightening to increase cloud cover over oceans and thinning out of the high-altitude cirrus clouds of ice crystals which reflect sunlight back to the earth's surface.
Tanzanian-based climate activist Ray Kiliho told Sputnik that geoengineering meant "deliberately intervening on a massive scale in the climate system of the Earth."
But he pointed out that there were other possible means than trying to block out the sun's light and heat — the wellspring of life on Earth — including re-forestation, stimulating the growth of oxygen-producing phytoplankton and methods of directly removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
The African youth leader highlighted the the risks of attempting climate control through blocking solar radiation, saying the "unexpected effects remain unclear."
"Solar radiation imbalances may affect ecosystems, agriculture, and weather. Complex interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere make it hard to forecast these effects," Kiliho warned. "sudden removal of solar blockage, whether intentional or technical failure, might cause rapid and drastic climate changes, disrupting and potentially amplifying climate impacts."
He also argued that over-reliance on solar blocking could lead to a "technological lock-in" that would divert resources away from "more sustainable and comprehensive alternatives" and delay the long-term switchover from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
The activist also cautioned that engineering climate change on a global scale could have "unforeseen regional implications" as well as raising political and ethical issues.
"Geoengineering presents ethical questions about governance, potential disproportionate consequences on different regions or groups, responsibility for implementation and hazards," Kiliho said. "Large-scale geoengineering necessitates international cooperation and control," but "Consensus on deployment, governance and hazards is difficult."