Inside the most sophisticated plan for solar geoengineering

Solar geoengineering offers a potential mechanism to stabilize global temperatures, yet it presents significant governance and safety risks. Stardust, led by CEO Yanai Yedvab, is developing a proprietary particle system composed of amorphous silica and calcite to serve as a safer, more inert alternative to traditional sulfur-based methods. Unlike sulfur, which requires large-scale deployment to test, this approach enables a stepwise, clinical trial-like process to monitor environmental impacts. Because the technology is relatively inexpensive—potentially costing roughly $10 billion per half-degree of cooling—it creates a "free driver" problem, necessitating a robust, multilateral government framework to oversee deployment. While private companies provide the necessary resources and talent for such complex technological development, the ultimate authority to initiate and manage global climate intervention must reside with a coalition of governments to ensure accountability and mitigate moral hazard.