“Glitter in the Sky: Can Diamond Dust Combat Climate Change When Funds Fall Short?”

Although the UK has recently shut down its final coal power station, the long-term impacts of burning polluting hydrocarbons for centuries won’t vanish swiftly.

A substantial amount of greenhouse gases is present in the atmosphere, which traps solar energy and raises the Earth’s temperature similarly to how one would insulate their home.

To avert further temperature increases, a research group led by Sandro Vattioni at ETH Zurich suggests that we might prevent some of the sun’s heat from reaching our planet entirely by reflecting its light away.

The only drawback is that it would necessitate the release of 5.5 million tons of diamond dust into the atmosphere – every year.

Putting logistics aside, a 2020 research conducted by Yale College instructor Wake Smith concluded that it would incur an impressive expenditure of $175 trillion.

As reported by the World Bank (via Data Commons), the GDP of the entire globe in 2023 was valued at $105 trillion.

In an interview with ETH News, Vattioni mentions that aerosols – tiny particles present in the atmosphere – “…have a cooling effect on the climate as they reflect solar radiation”.

This phenomenon occurs naturally today and has been observed in the past. Although the immediate consequences of the meteor collision that eradicated dinosaurs 66 million years ago were catastrophic, it was the enormous quantity of material emitted into the atmosphere that led to a cooling effect, delivering the final blow.

Currently, as Vattioni highlights, we generally observe atmospheric aerosols after volcanic eruptions that release sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. These particles then convert into sulphuric acid aerosols, but as the name suggests, sulphuric acid is not particularly beneficial for the environment and, as Vattioni states, can “cause acid rain”.

In search of an aerosol with fewer negative effects, the team discovered diamond dust through computational simulations.

However, Vattioni emphasizes that “the production of synthetic diamond dust is exceedingly costly and energy-consuming”, yet the research demonstrated that “calcite particles perform almost as well as diamond dust”, which is significantly simpler and more economical to produce.

There are still risks involved, as Vattioni underscored that “there is still considerable uncertainty” regarding whether dispersing such vast amounts of aerosols could be detrimental to the planet.

Ultimately, Vattioni asserts that “Solar geoengineering will not resolve the issue of climate change.” but it may “temporarily reduce some of [its] adverse effects.”

However, with emissions unlikely to decline in the near future, Vattioni asserts “we need research to investigate the advantages and, more crucially, the possible dangers associated with this technology.”