David King, chemist: There are scientists studying how to cool the planet; nobody should stop these experiments from happening'

"What happens if a country unilaterally decides to implement a large-scale experiment to cool a part of the planet? And what if this potentially generates unintended consequences beyond its borders? Sir David King, 86, is an eminent British chemist and climate expert. And the South African-born scientist isn't so concerned about researching the extreme measures that, he believes, could be the solutions to global warming. Rather, he's worried about their implementation before countries agree on how they should be used."

"Ten years ago, as the UK's climate negotiator, King was one of the driving forces behind the inclusion of the 1.5-degree Celsius target in the Paris Agreement a safety limit that's now beginning to be exceeded. He's currently president of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. A few days ago, he participated in a conference on climate change in Madrid, organized by the University of Vigo and Comillas Pontifical University, in conjunction with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)."

"Firstly, in the last 10 years, Greenland has been losing 30 million tons of ice every hour. If all of Greenland melts, sea levels will be [24 feet] higher across the planet, [because] there's a lot of ice there. Now, is this irreversible? Maybe yes, maybe no. It's not clear to us why it would stop melting. In any case, the future of humanity doesn't look very good if sea levels rise by [24 feet]..."

Accelerating ice loss and rising temperatures create urgent risks of catastrophic sea-level rise and global disruption. Greenland is losing roughly 30 million tons of ice per hour, potentially raising sea levels about 24 feet if it melts entirely. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet could add around 20 feet, together reshaping coastlines worldwide. Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C, reaching about 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels in January. Extreme interventions to cool parts of the planet may offer potential solutions, but unilateral experiments risk unintended transboundary consequences. International governance and agreement are necessary to manage testing and deployment of such measures.

Read at english.elpais.com