FACT CHECK: Is climate change caused by geoengineering?

A social media post has claimed that climate change is actually geoengineering, and weather modified by chemtrails.

The post reads: “I don’t know who needs to hear this but #ClimateChange is actually #Geoengineering,” the tweet partly reads. 

 The same content in the post was initially shared on Twitter on December 16, 2021. 

Later on, the same author shared a screenshot of the Twitter post on Instagram on February 17, where it gathered over 900 likes.

I don't know who need to hear this but #ClimateChange is actually #Geoengineering & those trails you see in the sky aren't water vapor, they're #StratosphericInjections aka #Chemtrails & you can look up the countless patents & protocols for #WeatherModification yourself. Wake up.

— the nomad soul ☥ (@krysticmystic) December 16, 2021

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CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS 

Climate change is driven by human activities, primarily through the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases released during the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. 

Burning of fossil and deforestation are the two main activities responsible for increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, and as a result, causing global warming. 

Scientists have explained that 30 percent of the sunlight reaching the earth is reflected back to space, while 70 percent is incorporated into the climate’s energy system. 

While the earth radiates some of this absorbed heat out to space, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides aid heat retention, through a phenomenon referred to as the greenhouse effect. 

With the help of greenhouse gases, the planet gets warm enough for living things. However, very high concentrations are increasing global temperatures beyond the normal range. 

More industrial activities by humans have led to increased levels of greenhouse gases, which implies that more heat is trapped, hence, increasing ​global warming.

The increase in average global temperature consequently has been responsible for record-breaking droughts, extreme rainfall, and other intense weather patterns.

THE NEXUS BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND GEOENGINEERING

Climatologists have expressed that the most sustainable way to slow climate change is to reduce greenhouse emissions by switching to clean energy sources like nuclear energy, solar, wind and hydro. 

Due to the slow pace of transitioning to clean energy, and the poor rate of emission reduction, nations of the world are considering a number of unfolding climate interventions driven by technology. These interventions seek to manipulate the atmosphere to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. 

Geoengineering involves the large-scale modification of climate using technology. It is broadly categorised into carbon geoengineering and solar geoengineering.

Carbon geoengineering is designed to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while solar geoengineering seeks to modify the amount of solar radiation absorbed and released by the atmosphere through the process of cloud brightening.

Gloria Okafor, a postdoctoral research scientist, at the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta state, Nigeria, told TheCable that geoengineering as a climate intervention “is still undergoing a lot of research”. 

“It is actually still being developed and studied, and all the facts including the risks or adverse effects are yet to be concluded,” the university lecturer said. 

“It is unfounded to say that geoengineering, which actually seeks to reduce emissions and the impact of climate change, is the causative factor of climate change.” 

CONTRAILS CONSIST OF VAPOUR, THEY DON’T MODIFY CLIMATE

The social media post also claimed that trails in the sky are “stratospheric injections” targeted at modifying climate. 

“Those trails you see in the sky aren’t water vapour, they’re #StratosphericInjections aka #Chemtrails & you can look up the countless patents & protocols for #WeatherModification yourself. Wake up.”

There are a couple of postulations on the internet without scientific proof, claiming that the white lines in the sky dispersed by jets are chemtrails.

Some of the amplifiers of these theories also claim the white lines contain toxic substances, deliberately sprayed by the government for reasons including population control.

Scientifically referred to as contrails, the long white lines are formed when water vapour and fine soot particles from burning jet fuels freeze into ice crystals at high altitudes. 

According to climatologists, there is no evidence that the white lines dispersed from aeroplanes are capable of altering the weather condition in any way. 

VERDICT

Both claims are false.  

Experts say there is no logic in the reasoning that geoengineering is responsible for climate change. Also, there is no evidence that chemtrails can modify the weather, in fact, they are not tangible enough to affect the weather or climate condition.

This content was produced with support from the Independent Media Response Fund, an initiative of the Check Global Program at Meedan to respond to global challenges through hyperlocal initiatives. The fund is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).