Scientists Warn Against For-Profit Solar Geoengineering Amidst Stardust's $60M Funding

An American-Israeli company, Stardust, recently secured $60 million in venture capital to develop technology aimed at cooling the planet through solar geoengineering. This investment, the largest to date for a solar geoengineering startup, fuels concerns among scientists about the role of for-profit entities in this domain. According to an MIT Technology Review guest opinion piece by David Keith and Daniele Visioni, researchers are increasingly worried about private companies building and deploying climate-altering technologies. They advocate for publicly coordinated and transparently funded research efforts, as well as multilateral government discussions to guide the development and potential use of these technologies. The core concept of solar geoengineering, or sunlight reflection methods (SRM), involves increasing Earth's reflectivity to counteract the warming effects of greenhouse gases. While research suggests SRM could significantly reduce climate change impacts, the authors caution against allowing profit motives to influence its development. Several startups, including Make Sunsets and Sunscreen, are already marketing or developing SRM technologies. The authors stress that the need for these companies to generate revenue could lead to biased lobbying and the promotion of potentially unsafe technologies. They specifically challenge Stardust's claim of creating inert particles safe for the stratosphere, arguing that any material introduced would alter stratospheric chemistry. Keith and Visioni conclude that while innovation is crucial, the unique challenges of SRM demand a focus on public trust and equitable decision-making, which are not naturally fostered by for-profit ventures.