Welcome to NOAC - Nature-based Ocean and Atmospheric Cooling!

I began hosting fortnightly NOAC meetings over two years ago when a group of scientists and concerned citizens like me realised that Net Zero was unlikely to be achieved in time to avoid climate disaster. Clearly some Earth cooling was going to be needed. Many email chains were going back and forth between us, but too often ended with an impasse. I wanted open, frank discussions where we could meet and learn from each in an orderly way. After all, we ultimately all wanted the same thing, didn’t we? I watched in delight as people with opposing views argued their points and then came to a resolution. Hearing those arguments informed us all.

Why the ‘Nature-Based’ approach? One of the fears of a large-scale climate repair intervention is of unknown consequences that might themselves need to be repaired in a never-ending cycle, itself leading to disaster. That is why the world’s prevailing climate policy is Net Zero - to avoid that risk. However, the risks of failing to achieve Net Zero even by 2030 now look much worse than they did only two years ago. By contrast, cooling interventions that closely mimic the way the natural world already works look much less risky.

But how does nature work? Of course, it’s endlessly complex, and that is what we discuss every fortnight. We share helpful resources and explain difficult concepts to each other. For example, I was stunned when Prof Stephen Salter explained to us how the polar ice sheets could be saved by Marine Cloud Brightening for the cost of security at a COP event! Clouds already reflect 23% of the sun’s energy back out to space, and increasing cloud reflectivity by only a few percent would be enough to turn global warming to cooling.

Unfortunately, climate solutions pose a ‘moral hazard’, in which the pressure to achieve Net Zero will be reduced. But we see it another way. Given how difficult and slow it is proving to be to reduce emissions, there is a moral obligation to take action to avoid disaster, as safely as possible. Avoiding cascading tipping points would give humanity more time to achieve Net Zero before greenhouse gas levels overwhelm even nature’s powerful solutions.

Many additional solutions have been proposed by different teams and individuals, and these are listed here in a form that we hope you can understand and assess. Please have a look and do what you can to help us get them funded.

Clive Elsworth