Sunlight Reflection

The Planet Is Going Dark

The world has not only warmed — it has darkened. As ice, snow and clouds retreat, Earth is losing the reflective surfaces that once bounced sunlight back to space. This planetary darkening is now a major independent driver of warming, on top of greenhouse gases.

"On the time horizons that matter to business and governments, decarbonisation cannot deliver cooling or reduce risk. To restore a stable climate, we must govern sunlight reflection through carefully managed albedo restoration."

Sunlight Reflection makes the business case for an Albedo Accord — a Montreal Protocol-style treaty framework to govern planetary reflectivity. Written for executives, risk officers, investors and policymakers, it argues that insurance, banking, agriculture, shipping, energy, tourism and defence all share a direct commercial interest in a cooler, more stable climate.

The book introduces Reflect as a necessary third pillar alongside Reduce (emissions) and Remove (greenhouse gases) — and shows how a governed programme of sunlight reflection could cool the Earth safely, rapidly, and at a fraction of the cost of decarbonisation alone.