Credit for Reducing Sunshine
Abstract
Climate Change is a driver for solar energy and sustainable growth. Since developed nations still dominate anthropogenic heat release and per capita Carbon Footprint, partly for the conveniences of a high standard of living, an exclusive focus on reducing Greenhouse Gases is controversial. It is too slow to stop the temperature and sea level rise and may also trigger unfavorable short-term responses. We propose to expand the concept of Carbon Credits to include other Sustainable Development Goals, specifically including reduction of heat input. Our Glitter Belt architecture comprises swarms of controlled, solar-powered data-gathering reflectors floating in the upper atmosphere worldwide. In the first phase, small swarms of Flying Leaf vehicles serve to reduce uncertainties in system performance, high altitude weather and overall Climate measurements and simulation. Scale-up phases with optimized systems are discussed. With proposed policy support in equating sunlight reflection to Carbon reduction, this is not only affordable but also self-sustaining. Perfect reflectors at the edge of the atmosphere are equivalent to 0.068 Certified Emission Units per square meter. Sunshine credits can be generalized to Nature Credits that recognize many other priorities of nations in a coherent manner, linked to UN Sustainable Goals and Nationally Determined Contributions. Keywords: Glitter Belt, Sunshine Credits, Nature Credits, Reflection, Anthropogenic Heat Release.