The EU’s €35 million Horizon Europe call funds research and coordination on solar radiation modification (SRM)—proposals to reflect more sunlight to cool the planet—not a programme to deploy it. Applications for the call containing the SRM topic are due 16 February 2027. The SRM research topic is listed separately with an indicative contribution of about €10 million, so the €35 million should not be read as funding for that topic alone. 167

• What it seeks: Better ways to detect and monitor possible SRM activity, model its effects on climate and ecosystems, and attribute observed changes to an intervention rather than ordinary variability or other causes. That evidence would help authorities identify and respond to unauthorised attempts; it would not, by itself, guarantee their detection or prevention. 12
• What it excludes: The topic expressly rules out SRM field experiments, technical or operational SRM research, and using the funding to advocate or support SRM development. Its purpose is to understand impacts and strengthen oversight, not to test or deploy sunlight-reflecting technology. 2
• Governance context: The EU has already funded work on SRM’s ethical and governance questions. Its scientific advisers have called for responsible research on impacts while warning that SRM is not ready and cannot replace emissions cuts; a 2026 European Parliament briefing says there is still no comprehensive international framework governing it. The distinction between studying SRM and deploying it is central to moratorium discussions. 58
• Why the issue is urgent—and contested: Reflecting sunlight might reduce some warming, but possible effects and risks remain uncertain, which is why assessing them matters. The call comes amid warnings that the world will breach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature threshold; that warning does not make SRM a substitute for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. 2812

The EU’s €35 million Horizon Europe call funds research and coordination on solar radiation modification (SRM)—proposals to reflect more sunlight to cool the planet—not a programme to deploy it. Applications for the call containing the SRM topic are due 16 February 2027. The SRM research topic is listed separately with an indicative contribution of about €10 million, so the €35 million should not be read as funding for that topic alone. 167

• What it seeks: Better ways to detect and monitor possible SRM activity, model its effects on climate and ecosystems, and attribute observed changes to an intervention rather than ordinary variability or other causes. That evidence would help authorities identify and respond to unauthorised attempts; it would not, by itself, guarantee their detection or prevention. 12
• What it excludes: The topic expressly rules out SRM field experiments, technical or operational SRM research, and using the funding to advocate or support SRM development. Its purpose is to understand impacts and strengthen oversight, not to test or deploy sunlight-reflecting technology. 2
• Governance context: The EU has already funded work on SRM’s ethical and governance questions. Its scientific advisers have called for responsible research on impacts while warning that SRM is not ready and cannot replace emissions cuts; a 2026 European Parliament briefing says there is still no comprehensive international framework governing it. The distinction between studying SRM and deploying it is central to moratorium discussions. 58
• Why the issue is urgent—and contested: Reflecting sunlight might reduce some warming, but possible effects and risks remain uncertain, which is why assessing them matters. The call comes amid warnings that the world will breach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature threshold; that warning does not make SRM a substitute for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. 2812