Rogue Climate Activist’s Startup Company To Release ‘Mini Volcanoes’ To Cool Atmosphere

A Mexico-based startup will next week launch sulphur particles into the stratosphere in a “rogue” move to create a “mini-volcano” effect it says could help cool the planet.

The technique, known as stratospheric aerosol injection, mimics the impact of volcanoes by using a weather balloon to release sulphur, creating a cloud of particles that reflect the sun’s rays and have a cooling impact.

It is one of several geoengineering techniques being studied as a way to cool the planet to avoid breaching internationally agreed limits on global warming.

The amount of particles that start-up Make Sunsets plans to release in coming days, up to 2kg, will make a minimal difference to overall warming.

But experts in geoengineering say the launches set a dangerous precedent for private companies or governments to interfere with the planet’s atmosphere.

The company is backed by two venture capital funds, and is selling “cooling credits” to the public for $15 (£12), which it says pays for 1g of sulphur, expected to produce enough cooling to offset a ton of carbon emissions for a year.

It released a first balloon in December in Mexico, but will next week launch from California, after the Mexican government released a statement criticising the first effort.

Co-founder Luke Isemans said the potential risks of what he is doing are outweighed by the known threat of climate change.

“I think that pretty quickly leads a rational person to an uncomfortable conclusion that we have a moral obligation to already be doing this at scale,” he told the Telegraph. “Every day we don’t do this is causing needless harm to people and ecosystems.”

Global non-use agreement

The practice is so far largely unregulated, leading experts to warn of the dangers of taking action without global consensus.

If conducted on a large scale, there are concerns the technique could deplete the ozone layer, or change precipitation patterns. Hundreds of scientists have signed a call for a global non-use agreement to stop the development and potential use of all large-scale solar geoengineering technologies.

“It would basically change precipitation patterns, meaning it could mess up the monsoon, which would affect millions of people,” said Lili Fuhr, from the Center for International Environmental Law. “Basically, you’re impacting everyone on this planet, so everyone should have a say. There’s not one country or actor that can take control of the global thermostat and do it benignly for everyone else.”

Experts warn that this cheap and easy method could make it more tempting for governments to use, which could have the potential to fuel conflicts if it goes wrong.

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