Without solar geoengineering to deal with climate change, will Earth inevitably become inhabitable? The hugely controversial, if probably inexpensive, proposal — to cool the planet by using aerosols or other methods to reflect away some of the Sun’s radiation — defines economist Gernot Wagner’s thought-provoking study. Two decades ago, he considered the idea “nuts”. He still does, but today he advocates extensive new research and thinks we have to take the “gamble”, despite the risks. The issue is now “not if, but when”.
China’s Solar PV installations dropped 85 percent in June after a planned subsidy phase-out. But far from a retreat from renewables, the country's energy policy reforms reflect an increasingly mature and competitive solar industry.
If political conditions in the United States and elsewhere require a rebranding of technologies formerly known as “climate tech,” so be it. The larger economic, technological, and geopolitical forces propelling everyone toward cleaner energy remain as strong as ever.
