Simulations of a volcanic eruption comparable to Mount Tambora in 1815 reveal that stratospheric aerosols could reduce global wind and solar resources simultaneously, with an average decline of 3.6% lasting up to 20 months. Under current infrastructure, these anomalies translate to an estimated 213.5 TWh reduction in renewable electricity generation and USD 9 billion in associated cost-based losses, comparable in energy terms to California’s annual electricity consumption in 2024. Regional impacts differ substantially: South America and Africa experience the largest average resource declines, while Asia records the greatest absolute generation losses because of its concentrated renewable capacity. The findings identify major volcanic aerosol events as an underexplored risk to renewable electricity supply and highlight the need to account for rare climate shocks in long-term energy planning and assessments of aerosol-based #ClimateInterventions . researchsquare.com/article/r…

Concerns that direct air capture (DAC) could weaken emissions-reduction efforts through moral hazard remain central to debates about its role in net-zero strategies. Using indirect questioning to reduce social desirability bias, a new study examines perceptions of mitigation ambition among a representative U.S. sample of 900 participants randomly assigned to control or DAC development scenarios. Contrary to expectations, exposure to the DAC scenario increased reported climate ambition, with participants rating their own emissions-reduction intentions as more ambitious than those they attributed to others. The findings also show that expectations of mitigation ambition varied according to whether motivations were attributed to internal, dispositional factors or external, situational circumstances. Differences between these attributions observed in the control group converged under the DAC scenario. The results suggest that moral hazard may operate through assumptions about the motivations behind others’ behaviour, highlighting the importance of understanding social perceptions when designing climate policies that combine carbon removal with emissions reduction. sciencedirect.com/science/ar…