An environmental campaigner has admitted a proposed plan to cool the planet poses a “serious risk”.
It comes as a UN report suggested current global efforts to tackle climate change are insufficient, and exploring technologies that would reflect sunlight hitting the earth back into space could be the answer.
One of the plans suggested includes spraying sulphate aerosol into clouds, which would reflect sunlight back out into the atmosphere.
Environmental auditor Donnachadh McCarthy warned undertaking such a plan has unknown conclusions, and could in fact result in the Ozone layer being damaged, which may have “significant” ramifications for the planet.
Speaking to GB News, he said: “The UN has said the risk is we don’t know what the consequences are.
“One significant possible one is if we bring sulphates into the clouds, which could cause damage to the ozone layer, which could cause other significant impacts on the world climate.
"What the UN report is saying is we’re in the danger zone.
“We’re looking at terrible acts to the planet if we don’t act, terrible threats to the planet if we do this geo-engineering.
An environmental campaigner has warned against a strategy to help cool the planet
Image: GB News
“The real message is, we need to take action now.”
GB News presenter Mark Longhurst questioned McCarthy on whether the answer to tackling climate issues lies in acid rain, to which the environmental campaigner admitted to having significant concerns.
He said: “I would prefer us not to be taking these risks, especially if the consequences are unknown for rainfall.
“If we disrupt rainfall patterns around the globe, what happens to a country that is dependent on that cycle of hydrological rain?
“There’s serious risks with this, it’s playing God with the atmosphere, that’s not what we should be doing.
“We should be reducing the burning of fossil fuels, the problem, the UN has said, is the current trend suggests we will be increasing fossil fuels by 10 per cent by 2030, when really we desperately need to cut it by 45 per cent.”
Calls to end the use of fossil fuels have turned into widespread protests
Victoria Jones
Asked whether the UN would be able to enforce such a ruling, McCarthy said “there is no legal framework” for them to be able to do so.
He added: “Why should, let’s say China, launch huge amounts of sulphate into the atmosphere, which could cause devastation to the rainfall in India?
"The governance issues are not there, so we need to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible and move to renewable energy.”60 scientists signed an open letter calling for further research into the strategy of ‘solar geoengineering’,saying it could be the “only option”.
The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) said it “requires far more research into its risks and benefits before any consideration for potential deployment”.