Exploring Climate Cooling
Backed by £56.8m, this programme will explore whether approaches designed to delay, or avert, climate tipping points could be feasible, scalable, and safe.
Our goal: To gather critical missing data and answer fundamental scientific questions on approaches that could help prevent humanity from experiencing climate tipping points
Why this programme
Climate change could cause global temperatures to increase by several degrees by the end of the century. There is a real risk that heating already locked-in to the planet could precipitate climate tipping points with serious and irreversible consequences around the world.
While the only sustainable way to reduce the risk of such tipping events is through decarbonisation, the risk of crossing one or more in the near future has driven increased interest in approaches to actively reduce global temperatures in the shorter term.
Yet, there is a dearth of robust data on these approaches, and we have a limited understanding of whether such interventions are scientifically sound, how they might be steered, or the full extent of their potential impacts.
What we’re shooting for
This programme will begin to explore whether approaches designed to delay, or avert, climate tipping points could be feasible, scalable, and safe.
Funding
Applications for this call are now closed
This programme is now selecting R&D Creators to answer the most critical technical and fundamental questions on the practicality, measurability, controllability, and likely side-effects of approaches that might one day be used to actively cool the Earth.
We'll announce Creators in 2025.
We're committed to responsible stewardship, transparency, accountability + good governance
All our funded research in this programme must:
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Deliver valuable knowledge that can address the most pressing critical scientific questions surrounding these approaches
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Minimise risk by design
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Engage with, and respect local communities
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Be transparent, open and honest at programme and project level
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Communicate proactively
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Remain cognisant of the broader implications of research
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Be willing to adapt to lessons learned
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Adhere to our well-defined framework for responsible research.
The programme's independent oversight committee, made up of international experts, is designed to strengthen the governance of the programme.
Meet the programme team
Mark is an electrochemist with a 15-year career developing sustainable fuels in the drive towards net zero. He joined ARIA from the University of Glasgow, where he is Professor of Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Technology.
"Decarbonisation is vital, but our current progress puts us at risk of triggering a large number of temperature-induced climate tipping points. This programme will explore critical unanswered questions as to how (or whether) we might cool the Earth safely and responsibly on the timescales required to avoid climate catastrophe."
Meet the programme team
George is an atmospheric scientist and joined ARIA from his PhD at Imperial College London, where he was researching how aerosols – microscopic particles suspended in the atmosphere – impact cloud properties and how that feeds into our understanding of climate change.
Meet the programme team
Mike is a condensed matter physicist by training and joined ARIA from his postdoc in Oxford, where he conducted research on novel photovoltaics. Prior to this, he was responsible for the set-up of several high volume, thin-film deposition operations across the globe for the world's largest electronics original equipment manufacturers.
