Solar Geoengineering and Misinformation

A statement from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) clarifying the distinction between aircraft vapor trails, weather modification, and solar geoengineering, while explicitly rejecting the 'chemtrails' conspiracy theory.

• The 'chemtrails' conspiracy theory incorrectly claims that aircraft vapor trails contain harmful substances released for undisclosed purposes and falsely links these trails to solar geoengineering research and weather modification to gain credibility.
• The document distinguishes between three distinct atmospheric phenomena: weather modification (such as cloud seeding to alter rainfall since the mid-20th century), solar geoengineering (speculative planetary-scale technologies to counter climate change), and vapor trails (water vapor from aircraft exhaust).
• CIEL explicitly rejects the chemtrails conspiracy theory and any misinformation linking solar geoengineering or weather modification to aircraft vapor trails, stating its work has no connection to such claims.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Solar Geoengineering and Misinformation. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Solar-Geoengineering-and-Misinformation-1.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Solar Geoengineering and Misinformation. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Solar-Geoengineering-and-Misinformation-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Solar Geoengineering and Misinformation |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Solar-Geoengineering-and-Misinformation-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndsolar, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Solar Geoengineering and Misinformation}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Solar-Geoengineering-and-Misinformation-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }