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As global temperatures rise, scientists are exploring solutions from planting trees to sucking carbon out of the air to geoengineering. But would they work? And what are the risks of engineering Earth's climate?

Scientists look to geoengineering and other methods to cool the planet.

Can We Cool the Planet?

This visualization uses Washington D.C.'s National Mall to show the scale of human coal consumption—and how much CO2 it adds to our atmosphere.

See how much CO2 we add to the atmosphere each year.

How Much Coal Do People Burn Each Year?

Can We Cool the Planet? Promo

Scientists propose putting reflective aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect the sun's rays. But will this have unintended consequences?

Solar geoengineering is like drawing a curtain over the face of the Earth.

What is Solar Geoengineering and Why is it Controversial?

Using laser technology aboard the International Space Station, Lola Fatoyinbo can get a 3D measure of forest carbon—making it the first near-global dataset.

This researcher shoots lasers at trees in order to measure how much carbon forests store.

Meet the NASA Scientist Who Uses Lasers to Study Forests

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As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are wondering if we need solutions that go beyond reducing emissions. From sucking carbon straight out of the air, to geoengineering our atmosphere to physically block out sunlight, to planting more than a trillion trees, the options may seem futuristic or tough to implement. But as time runs out on conventional solutions to climate change, scientists are asking the hard questions: Can new, sometimes controversial, solutions really work? And at what cost? (Premiered October 28, 2020)

Princeton University

Scientists look to geoengineering and other methods to cool the planet.

Planet Earth

Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters. In Alaska, a huge lake erupts with bubbles of inflammable gas. Scientists are discovering that these mystifying phenomena add up to a ticking time bomb, as long-frozen permafrost melts and releases vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. What are the implications of these dramatic developments in the Arctic? Scientists and local communities alike are struggling to grasp the scale of the methane threat and what it means for our climate future. (Premiered February 2, 2022)

In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate.

Arctic Sinkholes

The top half of Jupiter in blue and green against a night sky

A composite image of Jupiter using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

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NOVA’s most popular science documentaries of 2022

Four bright orange loops brand off of a dark blue blob

A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Scientists have cured a handful of people of HIV by piggybacking on treatments they received for blood cancer. But does that bring a widespread cure any closer?

Can We Cool the Planet?

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Armenia reckons with climate change and its Soviet past through reforestation

Can Geoengineering “Undo” Climate Change?

Geochemists Figure Out How to Turn Carbon Dioxide Emissions Into Stone

Why Doesn’t Everyone Believe Humans Are Causing Climate Change?

What if Carbon Left Your Tailpipe as Solid Chunks?

The Coal That’s Good for the Climate

What is Solar Geoengineering and Why is it Controversial?

How Much Coal Do People Burn Each Year?

Meet the NASA Scientist Who Uses Lasers to Study Forests

The Power Plants That Can Reverse Climate Change

Three Solutions That Can Slow or Stop Climate Change

Taking Politics Out of Climate Change

Climate Change's Best Hope

In best-case reforestation scenario, trees could remove most of the carbon humans have added to the atmosphere

Can We Cool the Planet?

How Earth’s Climate Changed Over the Past 500 Million Years

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Explore More

Armenia reckons with climate change and its Soviet past through reforestation

Can Geoengineering “Undo” Climate Change?

Geochemists Figure Out How to Turn Carbon Dioxide Emissions Into Stone

Why Doesn’t Everyone Believe Humans Are Causing Climate Change?

What if Carbon Left Your Tailpipe as Solid Chunks?

The Coal That’s Good for the Climate

What is Solar Geoengineering and Why is it Controversial?

How Much Coal Do People Burn Each Year?

Meet the NASA Scientist Who Uses Lasers to Study Forests

The Power Plants That Can Reverse Climate Change

Three Solutions That Can Slow or Stop Climate Change

Taking Politics Out of Climate Change

Climate Change's Best Hope

In best-case reforestation scenario, trees could remove most of the carbon humans have added to the atmosphere

Can We Cool the Planet?

How Earth’s Climate Changed Over the Past 500 Million Years