Climate change: Could reflecting sunlight into space help?
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Scientists are researching whether we could reflect sunlight back into space to cool Earth down
More research is needed on whether we could reflect sunlight back into space to help reduce the effects of climate change, a new United Nations (UN) report says.
The UN says the world isn't on track to reduce global temperature rises by the target of 1.5C.
Some scientists have suggested reflecting the Sun's heat back into space as a way of reducing the heat trapped on Earth.
But the UN says reducing the fossil fuels we burn and other gas emissions is still the best way to tackle climate change.
Could it work?
Could we reflect heat back into space?
Lots of scientists have been investigating the idea of reflecting sunlight back into space for years now.
Dr Tony Harding at Harvard University has written a lot about the idea, which he calls geo-engineering.
Some other ideas being investigated include making clouds more white so they reflect more sunlight, spraying "fake clouds" of water into the Earth's atmosphere to reflect light, and using methods in space to reflect light away.
The United Nations is like a council or parliament of people representing most of the countries in the world
Its job is to try and solve issues one county can't do alone
It was formed after World War Two to help create a more peaceful world
One of its jobs is to help tackle climate change
One report written by Dr Harding says doing this, alongside cutting greenhouse gases, could "reduce climate impacts in ways not possible with emissions cuts alone".
But a team of people from the UN have warned that the technology is only in its early stages so could have downsides we don't know about yet.
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