The things that SilverLining is interested in aren’t just how hot it will get or how low Arctic sea ice will go. The group has helped fund research into solar radiation management, a form of geoengineering or, as the nonprofit and National Academy of Sciences prefer to label it, climate intervention. The idea behind blocking sunlight was verboten in climate circles for decades because of fears that it would limit the world’s appetite to end the fossil fuel use that is causing climate change in the first place. It turns out world leaders and major corporations haven’t had much of an appetite to do that regardless, even as emissions have skyrocketed. Now, the planet is at risk of warming past thresholds scientists and policymakers have dubbed relatively safe. Research into solar radiation management strategies has gained more of a toehold lately, given that risk.

We know that blocking out a bit of sunlight will cool the planet because volcanic eruptions have provided numerous natural, real-world examples. But those last only a few years before the effect dissipates. A sustained, decades-long program to mimic volcanic winter by injecting tiny, reflective particles in the stratosphere via planes or even high-altitude balloons, though, involves more unknowns.

Running climate models, on the cloud or otherwise, could help researchers better grasp what a future with climate intervention would hold and give policymakers more fodder to come up with an informed decision.