An Egyptian engineer has proposed a radical new idea to fight global warming and rising emissions by covering hot countries, including Qatar, with “umbrellas” from space.

Geo-engineering methods could be used to place screens above cities like Doha to protect residents from the sun’s rays, said Arafa Radwan, a lecturer at Ukrainian National Technical University who discussed his “Alliance with the Sun” project on the sidelines of COP18.

The proposed screen, which would keep temperatures in Doha at 26C (79F) all year long, would span 14km in diameter and shade some 132 square km of Qatar.

No need for AC

It would be positioned like a satellite that could be turned on and off at will and comprise of reflective panels that allow the sun’s heat to be sent elsewhere, Radwan said in this interview with COP18 organizers.

“For the city of Doha, we reduce the intensity of falling sun radiation, we reduce the need for air conditioning…and for Europe we send them sun radiation energy and they can reduce their need for warming power supply,” Radwan said.

Radwan, told Al Arab he is focusing on Qatar because of the substantial cost of the project – an estimated $2.5 billion to launch over Doha – and said he could have the screen up in about eight years – just in time for the 2022 World Cup. 

The engineer added that he is discussing his project with the Qatar Sustainability Network (QSN) and Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI).

Here’s his interview with COP18:

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Deep Ghosh