Scientists are investigating novel strategies in the fight against climate change, such as cooling the earth with diamond dust. Researchers have devised a geoengineering approach that might potentially reverse global warming by reducing world temperatures by 1.6°C, despite the fact that diamonds would seem like an implausible answer. Considering that the globe is headed above the 1.5°C threshold established by the Paris Agreement, this is imperative.
The concept revolves around stratospheric aerosol injection, a type of geoengineering that involves releasing particles into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight and cool the Earth. Traditionally, sulfur particles have been used, but they come with risks such as stratospheric warming. To explore alternatives, scientists developed a 3D climate model to simulate how different materials, including sulfur dioxide, aluminum, calcite, silicon carbide, anatase, rutile, and diamond, perform in the atmosphere.
The model took into account the heat-reflecting capacity of each material, its time in the atmosphere (sedimentation), and its propensity to cluster together (coagulation), which would trap heat rather than reflect it. Diamond dust proved to be the most efficient at reflecting solar energy and hanging around in the atmosphere long enough to produce a long-lasting cooling impact over the course of a 45-year simulation.
However, the major obstacle is the cost. It’s estimated that releasing 5 million tons of diamond dust annually would cost around $200 trillion by the end of the century. To put that in perspective, the world’s total GDP in 2023 was $105.44 trillion. Moreover, there are concerns about the practicality of sending solid particles into the atmosphere without causing them to clump together.
While promising, diamond dust remains a theoretical solution with significant financial and technical challenges. As researchers continue to explore geoengineering options, sulfate aerosols remain the more likely candidate for deployment.