TU Delft intensifies research on climate engineering

TU Delft intensifies research on climate engineering

If the Paris climate objectives are not achieved, you do not want to be left empty-handed. Who knows, it may also be possible to cool down the earth artificially with ‘veils’ of minuscule particles or reflectors that reflect sunlight: solar climate engineering. Last week, Delta wrote about the implications of research into this area, following an appeal by researchers to forbid this type of research because the risks would be too great.

The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences clearly takes a different stand. The Faculty has issued a vacancy for an Assistant Professor in Radiation Management for Climate Engineering. This is the first time in the Netherlands that a senior researcher will be appointed who will focus entirely on the question of whether global warming can be halted by reducing solar radiation through technical interventions. People can apply for this position until 31 January.

In the coming years, we will hear a lot more about solar climate engineering. The Dutch newspaper ‘NRC’ reported this weekend that a consortium of scientists from 10 European universities, including TU Delft and Utrecht University, recently applied for a European Marie Curie grant to hire 10 PhD students to do research on a solar system in space. In April, they hope to hear whether their application has been accepted. Also outside Europe, particularly in the United States, more money and manpower is being freed up for research into geoengineering.