New Explainer: Solar geoengineering, aviation & the future of climate control
How aviation may become the delivery system for one of the most controversial climate interventions: solar geoengineering.
TL;DR: Geoengineering is moving from fiction to reality — and aviation may be the delivery system. Our new explainer breaks down the science, risks, and what it means for airlines.
In 1991, a volcano in the Philippines cooled the planet.
Mount Pinatubo blasted more than 20 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, scattering sunlight and lowering global temperatures by around 0.5°C for two years.
It was one of the most dramatic examples of unintended climate engineering in history — and it has become a template for one of the most controversial climate ideas in the world today.
That idea is solar geoengineering: the deliberate injection of aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and cool the planet. Once confined to science fiction, the concept is now the subject of real-world experiments, academic research, and political debate.
And aviation may sit right at the centre of it.
Same planes, new mission
The leading proposal for solar geoengineering — Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) — relies on aircraft.
Studies suggest modified commercial jets, such as Boeing 777s, could be equipped with sulphur tanks and high-altitude nozzles. Even business jets could be adapted: one recent paper estimated a conversion cost of under $30 million.
This makes aviation not just a bystander but the likely delivery mechanism for planetary-scale cooling. The altitude, the engineering, and the global reach already exist. In other words, climate control could become an airline service.
However, the risks are substantial. Poorly managed interventions could disrupt rainfall patterns, destabilise monsoons, or trigger what’s known as “termination shock” — a sudden spike in temperatures if deployment stops.
For aviation, the implications cut both ways. Airlines might one day operate the aircraft needed for stratospheric injections. But the industry also faces the moral hazard: if cooling credits cost $10 per tonne compared to $500 for direct air capture, what incentive remains for deep decarbonisation?
This tension makes aviation central to the geoengineering debate — both as an enabler and as a sector with a great deal at stake.
Why this explainer
Solar geoengineering is a fast-moving, divisive field that aviation cannot ignore.
That’s why we’ve created a mini explainer report. It cuts through the hype and conspiracy theories to explain the science, the history, and the implications for airlines.