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Climate engineering

Climate engineering, an application of geoengineering, is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in Earth's climatic system with the aim of reducing global warmingClimate engineering has two categories of technologies- carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management. Carbon dioxide removal addresses a cause of climate change by removing one of the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Solar radiation management attempts to offset effects of greenhouse gases by causing Earth to absorb less solar radiation.

Geoengineering has been proposed as a potential third option for tackling global warming, alongside mitigation and adaptation. Scientists do not typically suggest geoengineering the climate as an alternative to emissions control, but rather an accompanying strategy. Reviews of geoengineering techniques for climate control have emphasised that they are not substitutes for emission controls and have identified potentially stronger and weaker schemes.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options for climate change "remained largely speculative and unproven." The costs, benefits, and risks of many geoengineering approaches to climate change are not well understood. However, in the 2013 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the IPCC concluded that "Modelling indicates that SRM methods, if realizable, have the potential to substantially offset a global temperature rise, but they would also modify the global water cycle, and would not reduce ocean acidification."

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February 5, 2026

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Scientists studying ancient ocean fossils found that the Arabian Sea was better oxygenated 16 million years ago, even though the planet was warmer than today. Oxygen levels only plunged millions of years later, after the climate cooled, defying ...
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After analyzing 40 years of tree records across the Andes and Amazon, researchers found that climate change is reshaping tropical forests in uneven ways. Some regions are steadily losing tree species, especially where conditions are hotter and ...
A new building material developed by engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute could change how the world builds. Made using an enzyme that turns carbon dioxide into solid minerals, the material cures in hours and locks away carbon instead of ...
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Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct drainage from fields to the sea sends far more ...
Tiny plastic particles drifting through the oceans may be quietly weakening one of Earth’s most powerful climate defenses. New research suggests microplastics are disrupting marine life that helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, while also releasing ...

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