12 Mar 2018

Sunlight filtering looked at to reduce impacts of climate change

10:39 am on 12 March 2018

Filtering out a portion of sunlight from entering the Earth's atmosphere is being explored as a way of reducing some of the impacts of climate change.

It's a proposal known as Solar Radiation Management or SRM which has the potential to rapidly reduce the Earth's temperature.

It's a hot start to 2018.

It's a hot start to 2018. Photo: 123RF

The Berlin-based SRM Governance Initiative is looking at its potential as part of a global climate change mitigation strategy.

The initiative's project director Andy Parker was at a recent Pacific climate summit in New Zealand to engage with the region's climate community.

He aimed to take the discussion directly to Pacific countries later this year.

"To hear what local people think of this proposal," Mr Parker said.

"What does it mean to them? The idea of deliberately intervening in the planet's climate, ethically, politically, scientifically."