top line
George Soros said Thursday he supports using experimental solar technology to prevent the Arctic from melting, which the billionaire refers to as “a threat to the survival of our civilization,” though some scientists fear the technology could do more harm than good.
key facts
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Soros endorsed the use of solar geoengineering — spraying aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight from Earth’s atmosphere — to combat climate change.
Solar geoengineering – proposed by David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK – would create white clouds to replicate the ability of ice to reflect in the sky.
Although injecting aerosols into the atmosphere can reduce climate warming, it can also damage the ozone layer and can lower temperatures dramatically while producing unpredictable weather patterns, according to a 2021 study.
The aerosol particles don’t stay in the atmosphere for more than a year, requiring them to be maintained continuously — which could lead to warmer temperatures if the process were to stop, Raymond Berhembert, a professor of physics at the University of Oxford, told CNN.
Soros also called on the World Bank – whose former president David Malpass has been accused of denying climate change – to increase international financing to combat global warming.
Forbes Valuation
Soros, who developed his wealth by managing hedge funds in New York from 1969 to 2011, is worth $6.7 billion, according to our estimates.
Huge number
15 million. That’s how many people live under the threat of flash floods caused by melting glaciers, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature Communications. More than half of these live in India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
main background
Soros’ proposal comes amid global efforts to reduce high temperatures, which the United Nations has warned is not enough. Human activity has increased global temperatures by an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, according to a United Nations report. At current emissions levels, average temperatures could rise by up to 2.6 degrees more. Solar geoengineering, proposed and supported in recent years by King and other scientists, is seen as a last resort to combat climate change because it involves altering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Further reading
George Soros sees a threat to the ‘survival of civilization’ as the Arctic melts (bloomberg)
The President of the World Bank steps down early and leaves Biden to name the replacement (Forbes)
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