Fact-checking claims about the UK's geoengineering experiments
New government-funded trials to test ways of reflecting sunlight to tackle climate change have been met with misleading claims and conspiracy theories.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/12/fact-checking-claims-about-the-uks-geoengineering-experiments
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New government-funded trials to test ways of reflecting sunlight to tackle climate change have been met with misleading claims and conspiracy theories.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/12/fact-checking-claims-about-the-uks-geoengineering-experiments
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Claims about the UK's geoengineering experiments debunked.
00:08Misinformation is circulating online off the back of a recent announcement that the UK government is going to fund outdoor geoengineering experiments.
00:16Geoengineering refers to deliberate large-scale interventions in the Earth's environment to try to stave off the effects of climate change.
00:24The UK is focusing on solar radiation management, or SRM, according to reports, where a small portion of sunlight is reflected into space to cool the Earth.
00:33Nevertheless, social media users are claiming that the UK has already been engaging in geoengineering for years without public consent as a way to control the population.
00:42It would be impossible to conduct large-scale weather modification experiments in secret. It just can't be done.
00:51The amount of aircraft needed to fly this material to where it needs to go and the radiative effect would be easily obtainable by publicly available information.
01:06There have also been allegations that the UK government has been conducting SRM in secret for years.
01:11There's absolutely no evidence for that. What we should not get mixed up with is that there are techniques used in some parts of the world to produce short-term effects such as rain by seeding clouds.
01:28But it's not what I'm talking about when I talk about solar radiation management because solar radiation management in this definition is the long-term manipulation of the radiation balance of the atmosphere.
01:39It's true, though, that geoengineering is a controversial topic, with its backers saying it could be a crucial tool in the fight against climate change and its detractors warning it would distract from cutting emissions and cause unintended social and environmental effects.
01:54For more on the story, head to our website, euronews.com.
01:57For more on the story, head to our website, euronews.com.