Most Britons say a drastic change in the steps taken to combat climate change is needed in order to avert its worst effects
Recent weeks have seen a spotlight shone on the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), a research arm of the government set up in 2021 as the brainchild of Dominic Cummings.
The attention has been spurred by the unit’s proposals to test the feasibility of a multitude of sci-fi “climate cooling” projects, the most eye-grabbing of which has been modelling the effects of launching sun shades into space to reduce the amount of light reaching the planet.
A new YouGov survey now explores public willingness to support such geoengineering projects.
In The Simpsons, Mr Burns famously turned the whole of Springfield against him by blocking out the sun, and in reality similar proposals are hardly more popular. Just one in six (18%) would be willing to support launching large numbers of sunshades into space that would block or deflect small amounts of sunlight from reaching Earth.
More than four in ten (42%) say they would be unwilling to support such a ‘space sunshades’ technology, the highest of the proposals we asked about.
Similarly unpopular is the concept of "stratospheric aerosol injection", which involves increasing the level of sulfide gases like sulfuric acid, hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere to absorb solar energy and reflect sunlight back into space. Only 16% say they would be willing to back attempts to manipulate the sky in this way, compared to 36% who are unwilling to lend their support.
Other unusual proposals see more support. Three in ten Britons (31%) say they could support "marine cloud brightening", which would involve spraying mist created from seawater into the air on a large scale. The sea-salt particles would penetrate clouds making them brighter so they reflect more sunlight back into space. Supporters in this case marginally outnumber opponents (25%).
And when it comes to "ocean fertilisation" - the introducing nutrients like iron, urea or phosphorus to the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae that binds to carbon dioxide in the water and sinks to the ocean floor, preventing the carbon dioxide from returning – support is twice as high (43%) as reluctance (21%).
Less dramatic sounding proposals are able to garner the backing of most Britons. The concept of “cool roofs” - painting roofs and other surfaces like roads white or light colours to reflect more sunlight back into space, cooling down towns and cities and saving energy used on air conditioning – has the backing of 62%, with only 12% unwilling to support the idea.
And least controversial of all is the simple planting of more trees and forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the air, a move which 92% of Britons would be willing to support, compared to only 1% who are opposed. A separate YouGov survey likewise showed similarly overwhelming support for recently-announced government plans to plant a new national forest in the West Country.
The youngest Britons, who are consistently the most likely to say they are concerned about climate change, are the most willing to support geoengineering techniques in order to tackle the issue.
This is most noticeable for ocean fertilisation, which they are 17pts more willing to support than the wider public, and marine cloud brightening, at 19pts more likely.
Britons say more dramatic action is needed on climate change, but prefer to try to reduce consumption than technological solutions
While the geoengineering techniques tested might be too dramatic for much of the public, there is a widespread view that more needs to be done on climate change. Most Britons (57%) say that a drastic change in action is needed if we are to avert the worst effects of climate change. A more relaxed 12% think that current steps taken on climate change will be enough to avoid the worst effects, while a more gloomy 16% think that it is already too late to avoid the biggest problems of climate change.
While dramatic change may be called for, the public seem to prefer that this take place within traditional approaches. Asked which approach they would prefer, 45% said they thought climate change should be tackled by attempting to reduce consumption of resources.
By contrast, a third (35%) would prefer to see governments and societies come up with technological solutions for climate change.
What do you think about geoengineering to tackle climate change, whether reducing consumption is still the best approach, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
