Solar geoengineering and the potential for weaponization
21 April 2026 | ZEROGeoengineering.com | Paper below, “Why we need to explore conflict and competition
around solar geoengineering,” discusses the importance of understanding solar geoengineering as a technology that may be weaponized. “In a world where great-power rivalry is becoming increasingly commonplace, we need to assume that it is not cooperation, but competition that drives states to engage with solar geoengineering [20]. This also means that states may engage with it for reasons other than responding to climate change. A recent analysis by a UK security think tank has suggested, for example, that Russia could be interested in disruptive deployment of stratospheric aerosol injection for politically motivated purposes that are quite separate from climate considerations [21]. In US congressional hearings about solar geoengineering, questions have often been asked about whether or not rival powers are engaging with solar geoengineering research, not whether or how it could actually serve to combat climate change, or even what the focus/extent of other countries’ research is [22].”
Möller I, Young DN (2026) Why we need to explore conflict and competition around solar geoengineering. PLOS Clim 5(4):e0000869. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000869
Link To PLOS Why we need to explore conflict and competition around solar geoengineering
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