Let’s look at the idea of injecting aerosols into space more closely...(Previous posts go into the science, today we will be looking at the cost because as we know money matters!). One of the reasons why research into Geoengineering approaches is on the rise is due to the financial cost of cutting GHG emissions. Could Geoengineering approaches be more cost effective?
David Keith, from the University of Calgary, commissioned a study using a company that makes high-altitude drones. The study showed that small airlines could be newly designed in order to be capable at flying at altitudes of 20-25km and distributing tens of thousands of sulphuric acid vapour. It is estimated that approximately 80 such planes would be required every year to inject the vapour into the atmosphere and cool the Earth by a degree or two. This goal could never be achieved by purely cutting GHG emissions. The planes would have an operational lifetime of 20 years, and would cost approximately one or two billion dollars (Economist, 2010).
The study conducted may be deemed as a breakthrough for such Geoengineering projects...as it proposes that a couple of billion dollars a year spent on sulphur would be enough to offset the warming. If comparing this option with the option of moving to low-carbon energy sources, which would require hundreds of billions of dollars.....then for any politician it’s an easy choice to make! It maybe so easy that the potential risks of the approach could be entirely forgotten!
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