Press Release
SilverLining Announces Recent Awards for Research on Near-Term Climate Risk and Intervention in its $7 Million Safe Climate Research Initiative
–The Grants Support Climate Intervention Research Around the World, from Colorado to Reunion Island
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt (November 14, 2022) - SilverLining today published the most recent series of awards in its Safe Climate Research Initiative, a program to advance research in near-term climate risks and interventions to improve safety for vulnerable communities and natural systems in the context of escalating climate change. This first-of-its-kind initiative aims to accelerate society’s understanding of near-term climate risks, such as tipping points in natural systems, and the safety and efficacy of rapid climate interventions, such as increasing the reflection of sunlight from the atmosphere.
“Climate change is worsening around the world, with devastating impacts on people and ecosystems, especially the most vulnerable,” said SilverLining Executive Director Kelly Wanser. “This summer’s floods in Pakistan and China, heat waves in the United States and Europe, and major hurricanes in the Caribbean are just the latest examples. Warming is projected to increase for several decades, placing billions of people at risk. The Safe Climate Research Initiative supports researchers from around the world in efforts to fill critical gaps in the information we need to help keep people safe and ecosystems stable in an increasingly dangerous climate.”
The grantees include the United Kingdom Meteorological (MET) Office, the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and research teams at 11 universities including the University of Washington, the University of Exeter, and Université de la Réunion.
Launched in 2020, the Safe Climate Research Initiative provides financial support and technology resources to leading physical sciences researchers who work in collaborative efforts to advance research capabilities, such as climate model enhancements, and scientific knowledge, such as the effects of particles on clouds. Through these efforts, researchers also engage with government agencies, scientific communities, and social scientists to share information and advance understanding of impacts on communities.
A central goal of the Initiative is to generate information that can be used for open and inclusive research on the near-term impacts of climate change and climate intervention in different parts of the world. To that end, the Initiative supports participation by Global South researchers, open publication of research in peer-reviewed journals, and, in partnership with Amazon Web Services, the deployment of climate models and datasets for open access on the public cloud. (To review published articles, visit our website here.)
“Scientists have considered the possibility of climate interventions for years. As climate change worsens, the scientific community is acknowledging the need to better understand risks to the climate system over the next few decades and whether climate interventions could help safely address those risks,” said James Haywood, Professor of Atmospheric science at the University of Exeter and Research Fellow at the UK Meteorological Office, “The Safe Climate Research Initiative plays an important role in supporting and coordinating research to help us to better understand these critical topics.”
The Safe Climate Research Initiative has awarded over $7 million to researchers from 18 countries at institutions that include two national climate centers, 11 universities, and The World Academy of Sciences’ Developing Country Impacts Modeling Analysis for SRM (DECIMALS) fund supporting researchers in Bangladesh, Philippines, Kenya, and other Global South countries. Financial support for the Initiative comes from climate philanthropists and foundations including the Cohler Charitable Fund, the Moore Foundation, the Pritzker Innovation Fund, and others. Support for over $3 million in cloud computing and data services has been provided through SilverLining’s partnership with Amazon Web Services. The Initiative is raising funds for a new series of grants in 2023.
Recent awardees include:
For climate model development, simulations, and data analyses of the impacts of near-term climate warming and climate intervention:
UK Meteorological (MET) Office Hadley Center provides critical weather services and world-leading climate science. The award supported global climate model simulations of near-term climate change and climate intervention through increasing the reflection of sunlight from the atmosphere in the UK Earth System Model (UKESM), the intercomparison of these simulations with that from other major climate models, development of computer model simulations of climate interventions and open access to the simulation datasets for study by researchers around the world.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate and Global Dynamics (CGD) Laboratory develops state-of-the-art Earth system models that are used to study past, present, and future climate. The award supported the production of the Analysis of the Responses and Impacts of Solar Climate Intervention on the Earth System (ARISE) program to conduct Earth system and atmosphere model simulations of scenarios with moderate climate warming and of intervention in the stratosphere to counter warming over the period from 2035 to 2070. Collaborating researchers from other institutions analyze data from these simulations to study climate impacts on Earth and human systems including agriculture, drought, flooding, and human health, in various parts of the world.
The University of Exeter Aerosols, Clouds, and Climate Group studies the effects of atmospheric aerosols and their interactions with clouds on the climate system. The award funded climate model development, simulations, and data studies of the influence of stratospheric aerosol intervention on climate and the atmosphere.
Colorado State University (computing grant) Hurrell and Barnes Research Groups study earth system predictability, subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction, climate dynamics, climate change, and sustainability, climate intervention, and explainable artificial intelligence (AI) for earth system research. The award supported research into climate impacts under scenarios with and without climate intervention in the context of internal climate variability.
For research on processes related to using sea salt spray to brighten clouds to cool climate:
The University of Washington Marine Cloud Brightening Project is an international collaboration of over 40 scientists and other experts from 6 institutions to advance understanding of cloud responses to particles (aerosols) and possibilities for leveraging these effects to reduce climate warming and impacts. The award provided funding for research into generating sea salt spray and studying its behavior in the laboratory and locally in the atmosphere.
The University of Victoria’s Climate Dynamics Laboratory (computing grant) is using state-of-the-art machine learning methods to create a climate response function that maps how changes in regional (shortwave) cloud radiative effects impact the large-scale coupled (atmosphere and ocean) circulation and regional climate. Connecting these regional effects to global impacts is critical for understanding and optimizing marine cloud brightening to reduce warming while minimizing changes to the hydrologic cycle.
For research related to the effects of materials on the stratosphere:
Scientific study of local processes. The Safe Climate Research initiative provided funding to support scientific study of the behavior of particles in laboratory, chamber, and computer modeling studies. Grantees in this effort included:
State University of New York (SUNY) Albany Atmospheric Sciences Research Center
University of Central Florida Propulsion & Energy Research Lab
Observation of the Hunga Tonga Volcano. In collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, SilverLining supported the rapid deployment of a campaign to observe emissions from the volcanic eruption as they traveled to the upper atmosphere. Grantees in this effort included:
Université de la Réunion, Atmosphere and Cyclone Lab
University of Houston Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
University of St. Edwards Department of Physics
For research related to the effects of materials on the stratosphere:
Methane in the atmosphere is a significant contributor to climate warming that could increase in the future through the release of gasses from thawing permafrost. Scientists have suggested the possibility of mitigating or removing atmospheric methane by enhancing chemical processes observed in nature. SilverLining supported leading experts in laboratory and computer modeling studies of these processes. Grantees in this effort included:
Cornell University Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Copenhagen Atmospheric Research Center
About SilverLining
SilverLining is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that society has sufficient information and options to protect the world’s most vulnerable people and ecosystems from the impacts of near-term climate change. Like a medical foundation, SilverLining works to advance research and innovation, promote effective policies, and raise public awareness to reduce harm and save lives. SilverLining engages with the research community, policymakers, technologists, civil society, and people from all walks of life in its efforts to ensure a safe climate. Learn more at www.silverlining.ngo.