Climate Reflections: The SRM360 Podcast

SRM360

Climate Reflections dives into the world of sunlight reflection methods, also known as solar geoengineering: a set of ideas to reflect a small amount of sunlight back to space to help counteract global warming. This may sound like science fiction, but it’s an idea that scientists really are studying.

Join podcast host Peter Irvine, a sunlight reflection scientist, to explore what different ideas are being studied to reflect sunlight, what impact they might have, and what is going on in the world today related to sunlight reflection research.

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16 episodes
Updated Jul 15, 2025

Episodes16

Newest first

Jul 15, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
Making sense of calls for bans and moratoria for solar geoengineering
On 9 April 2025, SRM360 hosted a live discussion on the growing debate surrounding moratoria and bans on solar geoengineering. Listen to the episode to explore the differences between bans and moratoria, the pros and cons of each, and policy discussions on the horizon with expert panelists Josh Horton, Julie Vinders, Joe Sonka, and Craig Segall. Note, since this recording the U.S. EPA published a new resource on geoenineering. Why is this relevant now? European Commission Review: The Commission is considering proposals for moratoria on certain SRM activities that were recommended by scientific advisors. State-Level Bans in the US: More than 25 US states have proposed or adopted a ban on geoengineering. Divided academic viewpoints: An influential group of academics have called for a non-use agreement, which includes a ban on outdoor experiments. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Jun 3, 2025 · 23 min
Field Experiments in SRM
In May 2025, the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) announced its initial round of awards for their "Exploring Climate Cooling" programme. The programme will ultimately dedicate £56.8 million to fund sunlight reflection methods research. Some of that funding will go towards field experiments. There have been only a few SRM field experiments to date, and some have been cancelled due to public pressure. In this episode, we explore what SRM field experiments have taken place, how they've informed scientific knowledge of SRM, talk with some of the scientists leading those experiments, and explore how outdoor field experiments of SRM should or could be governed. This episode features interviews with: David Keith, professor of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago and faculty director of the Climate Systems Engineering Initiative (CSEI), an interdisciplinary academic research cluster focused on climate interventions John Moore, glaciologist and research professor at University of Lapland in Finland. Daniel Harrison, associate professor in the National Marine Science Center at Southern Cross University in Australia and scientific lead for the cooling and shading subprogram of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), which includes outdoor marine cloud brightening experiments. Jan MacDonald, professor of Environmental and Climate Law at the University of Tasmania in Australia. Shuchi Talati, governance expert and executive director of the Alliance for Just Deliberation of Solar Geoengineering. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
May 14, 2025 · 49 min
Live Podcast: SRM and Africa - perspectives from the continent
Africa is home to many of the world’s least developed nations and its population is rapidly growing, making it one of the most climate vulnerable regions in the world. As such, Africa has much to gain, or lose, from the potential deployment of SRM. SRM360 hosts a live panel discussion at the Degrees 2025 Global Forum in South Africa with leading African experts about the future of Africa, the climate outlook, and the potential and risks of SRM for the continent. Moderator: Pete Irvine (SRM360.org & University of Chicago) Panelists: Babatunde Abiodun, University of Cape Town, South Africa Ernest Ofori, Green Africa Youth Organization, Ghana Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Portia Adade Williams, Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Ghana Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
May 6, 2025 · 29 min
What is Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB)?
In this episode of Climate Reflections: The SRM360 Podcast, host Dr. Pete Irvine discusses the sunlight reflection method (SRM) known as Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB), which involves spraying sea salt particles below the cloud base to brighten clouds and reflect sunlight. The episode explores two different MCB field experiments by scientists, and discusses the technical, scientific, and ethical challenges of MCB. Joining us to explain Marine Cloud Brightening are experts Dr. Isabelle Steinke, Assistant Professor for Climate Engineering at TU Delft, Dr. Michael Diamond, Assistant Professor in Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science at Florida State University, and Dr. Daniel Harrison, Oceanographer and Engineer at the National Marine Science Centre of Southern Cross University and Cooling and Shading Leader for the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program in Australia. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Apr 15, 2025 · 33 min
News Roundup: major reports on SRM from Germany and the US, how to assess risk, and how emotions impact SRM opinions
To discuss SRM news over the past month, we're joined by Chad Baum, behavioral scientist and Assistant Professor at Aarhus University in Denmark, and Julie Vinders, Lawyer and Senior Research Analyst at Trilateral Research in the UK. We'll talk through the German Environmental Agency's recent policy report on SRM, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations' Climate Realism Initiative, that considers SRM as one of many interventions to "avert catastrophic global climate change". We'll also discuss Julie's article on how the precautionary principle as understood under EU law applies to SRM, and Chad's recent international study of over 30,000 people examining how emotions impact public support for climate interventions. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Apr 1, 2025 · 20 min
Air Pollution and SRM
Modern efforts to clean up air pollution started in the 1950s following the London Smog event, which killed nearly 12,000 people. Much of that pollution was caused by sulphate aerosols. The health and environmental impacts of sulphate pollution were well understood by the 2000s, but another impact was becoming increasingly clear: sulphate aerosols reflected incoming solar radiation, preventing some global warming. The realization that clean air legislation was contributing, in part, to global warming, led Paul Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, to make an unorthodox suggestion in 2006: what if we added sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere, purposefully, to reflect sunlight while avoiding negative health impacts? Would it avoid the health impacts? This episode explores the history and risks of the sunlight reflection method known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), and its relationship to air pollution. We’re joined by Oliver Morton, Senior and Briefings Editor at The Economist, and Daniele Visioni, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at Cornell University. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Mar 18, 2025 · 31 min
News Roundup: the next IPCC report, alternative aerosol particles, and more
In a contentious meeting in late February, the IPCC agreed on outlines that include discussions of SRM for its 7th assessment report. For the first time in IPCC history, the US was notably absent, having been banned from participation by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Raymond Pierrehumbert and Michael Mann, two prominent climate scientists and critics of SRM argue that the UK government should pull the plug on their Advanced Research and Invention Agency - or Aria - which was created by an act of Parliament and intends to commit £56.8 million or about $73 million to projects that evaluate the feasibility, scalability, and safety of solar geoengineering ideas. In this monthly news roundup, Pete Irvine discusses these and other recent SRM-relevant developments with experts Sandro Vattioni, Post Doctoral Researcher in Atmospheric Physics at ETH Zurich, Alfonso Fernández, Full Professor of Physical Geography at Universidad de Concepción in Chile, Daniele Visioni, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at Cornell University, and Tyler Felgenhauer, Senior Research Scientist at Duke University and the Duke Center on Risk. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Mar 4, 2025 · 33 min
SRM Governance with Cynthia Scharf
Cynthia Scharf has spoken with senior policy makers, UN officials, think tanks and NGOs across the world about climate change and sunlight reflection methods (SRM). Eight years ago, when she first began having these discussions, most people did not see SRM as a serious issue with implications for every country in the world. Now, they are interested. But as interest grows, the gap between the research community and policymakers' knowledge has also grown. Join our exclusive conversation with Cynthia Scharf, Senior Fellow at the Center for Future Generations, as she shares what policymakers are thinking about SRM and what information needs to be shared to enable transparency in this controversial space. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Feb 18, 2025 · 30 min
News Roundup: James Hansen and SRM, Arctic Ice Project Shuts Down, New MCB Studies, and More
What we'll cover: At the end of January, the Arctic Ice Project - formerly Ice 911 - announced they were shutting down. Why? A new study came out this month that draws on focus groups and a survey across 22 countries asking the public who they trust when it comes to information about carbon dioxide removal and SRM. What were the findings? A new literature review identifies research gaps across the field of SRM. Thoughts on a recent paper about SRM transparency problems. A discussion of a recent study focused on how to govern Marine Cloud Brightening Famous scientist James Hansen's new piece, and what it means for SRM To discuss the latest SRM news, Climate Reflections Host Pete Irvine is joined by Viktor Jaakkola, Head of Scientific Collaboration at Operaatio Arktis; Michael Diamond, Assistant Professor of Meteorology and Environmental Science at Florida State University; and Rob Bellamy, Senior Lecturer in Climate and Society at the University of Manchester. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Feb 4, 2025 · 18 min
The Geopolitics of SRM
Climate change will disrupt the geopolitical landscape. So will Sunlight Reflection Methods (SRM). But might SRM help reduce international tensions by reducing the impacts of climate change? Or will these methods cause more or worse disruptions? For this episode of Climate Reflections, host Pete Irvine speaks with geopolitical experts to explore the current geopolitical landscape and how SRM might interact with it to impact international relations. Guests: Olaf Corry, Professor of Global Security Challenges at the University of Leeds, Beth Chalecki, Associate Professor of International Relations in the Political Science Department at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and Josh Horton, Senior Program Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Jan 21, 2025 · 30 min
News Roundup: Hottest Year, SRM Under Trump, International SRM Discussions, And More
2024 was the hottest year on record. Could that change how policymakers think about SRM? How might the new administration in the US approach SRM? Do experts think countries will effectively develop international SRM regulations? We discuss a recent paper examining the topic, and find that the outlook is not optimistic. We also discuss another recent study which found that although SAI would cause some deaths, implementing SAI could still save hundreds of thousands of lives for every 1 degree C of cooling, thanks to its reduction in climate change-caused heat-related deaths. Finally, we explore a new book chapter on Cirrus cloud thinning, and answer a question from our listeners. To discuss the latest SRM news, Climate Reflections Host Pete Irvine is joined by Blaž Gasparini, a Senior Scientist at the University of Vienna in Austria, and an expert in Cirrus clouds, Claudia Wieners, an Assistant Professor in Climate Physics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands studying the impacts of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) on Atlantic circulation, and Shuchi Talati, a climate technology governance expert and founder and Executive Director of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Jan 14, 2025 · 22 min
What is Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI)?
On June 15th, 1991, the densely populated island of Luzon in the Philippines awoke to an explosion that would turn out to be the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Mount Pinatubo had erupted, releasing a huge cloud of volcanic ash, hundreds of kilometers across and 40 kilometers high. As satellites tracked the ash cloud spread around the globe several times over, atmospheric scientists noted that over the next year, the Earth's global temperature had decreased by as much as half a degree Celsius. The eruption had added around 17 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere between 10 and 50 kilometers above the surface. And this sulfur had gone on to form countless tiny aerosol particles. In the lower atmosphere, these particles would have been washed out in days, but because the stratosphere is dry and stable, these particles lasted for several years, reflecting light, and cooling the Earth. Could the climate cooling effect of this eruption be replicated as a way to help tackle climate change? In this episode, we focus on the basics of the sunlight reflection method known as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection, or SAI, an SRM idea that looks like it could offer a practical means of halting or even reversing global warming within a few years. What is SAI? What would it take to cool the planet? And who could do it? Featuring Dr. Daniele Visioni, an Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University and Dr. Joshua Horton, a Senior Program Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Dec 17, 2024 · 30 min
News Roundup: Live from the American Geophysical Union
Host Pete Irvine is joined by SRM researchers Lili Xia, Chris Lennard, and Tyler Felgenhauer for a live recording from the American Geophysical Union conference in Washington D.C. They discuss the latest SRM news including: the New York Times article on U.S. efforts to develop an early warning system to detect SRM deployment; Florida senator Ileana Garcia's bill to ban all "weather modification" activities; takeaways from the UNFCCC COP related to SRM; the latest research on the impacts of SAI to human health; the European Commission's chief scientific advisory recommendations on SRM; and more! Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Nov 26, 2024 · 43 min
News Roundup: History of SRM
For this first News Roundup episode of Climate Reflections, we look back over the entire history of SRM and ahead to its future. For this, we are joined by 4 great guests with extensive experience working on this topic: Inés Camilloni, a Professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires and a Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental panel on climate change’s working group on physical science. Govindasamy Bala, a Professor at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science who has worked on SRM longer than almost any other researcher, publishing his first article on this topic 24 years ago. Oliver Morton, the Senior and Briefings editor at the Economist who has written extensively about SRM, including in his excellent 2016 book “The Planet Remade” Cynthia Scharf, a senior fellow at the International Center for Future Generations, where she leads their work on SRM. She was previously senior strategy director for the Carnegie Climate Governance (C2G) Initiative, and served in the Office of the UN Secretary-General as the head of strategic climate communications. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Nov 26, 2024 · 22 min
What is SRM? Who is studying it and why?
In our first themed episode of the Climate Reflections podcast, we present many different viewpoints from around the world on the role and risks of sunlight reflection methods (SRM) - proposals to reflect some of the sun's light back to space in order to cool the planet. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!
Nov 15, 2024 · 1 min
An Introduction to Climate Reflections
Climate Reflections: An SRM360 podcast explores the science, ethics, and our current understanding of Sunlight Reflection Methods (SRM), also known as solar radiation modification, or solar geo-engineering. SRM are a set of methods being researched to reflect some sunlight back to space in order to cool the planet. This podcast will present the views of a wide range of experts working in this field and explore what we know, what we don't know, and the issues SRM raises. We’ll have two episodes a month. One will be our monthly News Roundup, where you’ll hear about all the SRM news over the last month, and the other will be our monthly themed podcast, where we’ll explore a wide range of SRM related topics. Learn more at srm360.org. Climate Reflections is a production of SRM360, a non-profit knowledge hub supporting an informed, evidence-based discussion of sunlight reflection methods. For more information and the latest research on SRM, visit SRM360.org. Follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes: LinkedIn: SRM360-org Twitter/X: SRM360_org YouTube: SRM360org Bluesky: SRM360 And subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts!