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Could we control our climate?
Could we control our climate?

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4.2 Actions

In the top section, you have several ‘actions’ available under the headings of mitigation, geoengineering and adaptation.

Mitigation

  • This is about working out how to decrease human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The default value for greenhouse gases is equivalent to RCP8.5 in the year 2100.

Geoengineering

There are seven possible methods at your disposal:

  • Solar Radiation Management:
    • Solar shield, as area of shield in kilometres squared
    • Bright cities, as percentage area of the Earth’s surface covered in perfectly reflective material
    • Sulfate aerosols, in amount per year
    • Marine cloud brightening, in percentage area of the Earth’s surface covered (maximum is 40%)
  • Carbon Dioxide Removal:
    • BECCS (maximum removal is 190 ppm)
    • Ocean fertilisation through iron addition (maximum removal is 30 ppm)
    • Afforestation with biochar (maximum removal is 70 ppm).

Adaptation

  • This section is about decreasing our vulnerability to climate change. This does not affect climate or other species.
  • This variable expresses the increase in our adaptation from current levels (maximum is 50%, as it is impossible to adapt perfectly to all extreme weather).
  • Some examples of adaptation are building sea defences or improving the resilience of people and infrastructure in developing countries to extreme weather.