Department for Science, Innovation and Technology written question – answered at on 16 June 2026.
Ben Obese-Jecty
Conservative, Huntingdon
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2026 to Question 1739 on Advanced Research and Invention Agency: Geoengineering, how much has her Department spent on investigating whether spraying seawater could increase the reflectivity of clouds.
Kanishka Narayan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) ‘Exploring Climate Cooling’ programme has allocated £8.53 million of funding over 3 years to 3 projects that examine the effect of spraying seawater on cloud reflectivity. These projects focus on modelling, small-scale controlled outdoor experiments, and governance.
Any outdoor experiments will be subject to an environmental impact and legal assessment, which will be made publicly available before any outdoor experiment takes place. They will be limited in size, scale, and time-bound, so the effects dissipate within 24 hours or are fully reversible.
As set out in ARIA’s Framework Agreement, ARIA has unique operational freedoms, including over its research and project choice and its procedures. The government supports ARIA’s mission to fund transformational research programmes with long-term benefits.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
