So-called solar radiation management could be weaponized to inflict ecological disaster on the US
The Chinese military is investing heavily in technology that would actually control the weather, according to a new report drawn from previously unseen Chinese documents, hoping to outpace the United States in developing the means to “alter precipitation patterns, disrupt agriculture, and create geopolitical instability if misused,” the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) reported.
Scientists in China and the United States believe they’re close to a breakthrough in achieving what’s called solar radiation management (SRM), a technology that “is no longer a fringe scientific concept but an emerging strategic domain—one in which technological capacity, research leadership, and governance influence will shape national power and global security,” according to the ACCF, a nonpartisan research organization. Scientists now believe the weather-warping phenomenon can be achieved through advanced geoengineering techniques that reflect sunlight. This technology is very different from conventional weather modification techniques, such as cloud seeding, and could be used in tandem with artificial intelligence to significantly alter rain patterns.
China has “more than doubled dedicated funding for SRM-focused research” over the past several years and, in 2026 alone, elevated these projects as a “national-security priority” to ensure its dominance in the field, according to the ACCF report. Drawing on Chinese-language materials “largely unreported in English until now,” the ACCF documented how the CCP has shifted from “broad exploratory work” on SRM projects to “a larger, more focused national research program” that will position China as the global leader in the field.
This outcome would be a clear national security risk for the United States and its Western allies. If China maintains its lead in developing emerging SRM technologies, it would create an uneven playing field in which the CCP has free rein to crush Western competitors in a dual-use technology applicable to modern warfare.
“The alternative to U.S. and allied leadership is not a neutral, benign vacuum,” the ACCF warned in its report. “It is a field increasingly shaped by an actor that is investing in focused SRM capabilities and seeking influence over related standards and governance.” While the “window for democratic leadership” on SRM issues remains open for now, “that window is narrowing” as China pours millions into these projects.
The leading SRM method is achieved through stratospheric aerosol injection, in which sulfur dioxide or similar chemicals are sprayed into the atmosphere to scatter sunlight, reducing temperatures on the ground. But it comes with profound risks that could “alter rainfall patterns, shift monsoons, affect ozone chemistry, or trigger ‘termination shock’ if aerosol injection were abruptly halted,” the ACCF explained in a separate report from February. These techniques could be weaponized by China to inflict ecological disaster on its enemies.
While China has been researching SRM technology for the past 15 years, it has noticeably prioritized these projects in recent years, integrating them into the country’s wider military industrial complex.
By 2024, largely unreported Chinese research materials show, the PRC’s Ministry of Science and Technology “significantly increased funding” to SRM projects totaling upwards of $5 million. This increase suggests the CCP is quietly working to gain the upper hand technologically and establish itself as a regulatory authority in place of the United States, which in many cases has banned this research on the state level.
“This funding boost—together with the comments and activities of PRC researchers working in the PRC and abroad—strongly signal the PRC’s recognition that SRM is an emerging critical technology likely to present both great opportunity as well as challenges,” according to the ACCF report. “These developments suggest that non-PRC stakeholders hoping to play leading roles in the future of key climate technologies such as SRM should take note of the PRC’s SRM initiatives, as well as consider increasing their own and their allies’ focus and engagement.”
The CCP’s “substantial shift” in funding in 2024 went toward “two SRM-focused research projects” and represented “well over double” the amount China was spending just a decade earlier.
“The significance lies not only in the larger 2024 budget compared to the 2015 budget, but in the narrower focus,” the ACCF explained, noting that recent Chinese research projects focus specifically on SRM technologies such as “stratospheric aerosol injection and low-cloud radiative intervention.”
China has also sought to monitor U.S. government research, as it is known to do through covert intelligence operations and also direct partnerships with American universities and government labs. In recent years, the ACCF wrote, “several PRC scientists that focus on SRM-relevant topics have visited or worked in U.S. government agencies and research institutes conducting SRM research, as well as other labs.” At least some of those scientists carried on this work upon returning to China.
The CCP entities leading this work are also notable. They include “the highest agencies of the Communist Party of China … and the PRC central government ruled by the CCP,” the ACCF found.
The increased funding, combined with a state-driven research focus, shows that China is employing the same playbook that has allowed it to dominate other cutting-edge technology sectors that it considers pivotal.
“SRM is no longer a fringe scientific idea; it is an emerging strategic domain,” ACCF president and CEO George David Banks said in March. “If the United States fails to lead in shaping transparent, science-based governance, others will set the rules in ways that may not align with American interests.”
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