Mirrors in space, ocean plankton no easy climate change fix, says study
Ideas like mirrors in space and growing more ocean plankton have their side effects
Far from offering a simple fix, science-fiction solutions to global warming may in fact make the problem worse, according to a recent probe of "geo-engineering" options.
Once mocked as unscientific, geo-engineering proposals are gaining traction as carbon emissions soar, placing earth on track to warm maybe four degrees Celsius by 2100.
Ideas, mainly experimental or untested, include building mirrors in space to reflect the sun's rays or growing plankton to boost absorption of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
The goal is to buy time to wean the global economy off the cheap, dirty energy sources driving man-made climate change.
On current emissions trends, these technologies stand little chance of rolling back warming to the UN-targeted two degrees and may well make matters worse, according to the study.
"Climate engineering alone is not a good solution to prevent climate change," said David Keller of the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Germany, who co-authored the paper.