Four Pillar Climate Strategy
Mitigation
The global economy must decarbonize as quickly as possible, countering massive industry momentum going the other way. Electricity, agriculture, transportation, buildings, and industry must evolve rapidly to become carbon neutral. The longer this takes, the greater greenhouse gas concentrations will be, as will their climate-related damages. Our climate is fated to worsen each day until we reach Net Zero when GHG removals match GHG emissions. This is optimistically estimated to be mid-century but more likely to be much later.
Adaptation
Protective measures will be essential to manage climate-induced impacts. Low-lying communities and coastal cities must upgrade critical infrastructure or face the difficult decision to relocate due to rising seas. Agriculture will need to adapt swiftly to changing weather patterns, while humanity must brace for higher temperatures, prolonged heatwaves, and growing food and water insecurity. This crucial and costly undertaking must start immediately and be sustained through the long transition toward a more habitable climate. Poorer nations in the Global South will need the help of the richer countries in the Global North.
Carbon Dioxide Removal
Only CDR can return carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to a safer level and end the need for SRM. The task, however, is nothing short of monumental. Implementing CDR at scale will require extensive technological innovation, vast financial resources, and massive amounts of energy. The sheer scale of CO2 that must be removed from the atmosphere to achieve safe levels is staggering, and estimates suggest it will take more than a century. Despite this, CDR is our only hope for climate restoration.
Sunlight Reflection Methods
SRM represents a suite of interventions that attempt to cool the planet by reflecting a small amount of sunlight back into space, thereby reducing heat-related suffering. Several methods have been studied, but Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is the most substantiated and global. While SAI has tremendous potential, it has uncertainties and risks, such as potential disruptions in weather patterns and others. Because of these risk/benefit tradeoffs, research is imperative.