Efforts to reverse our planet’s warming trends are not just insufficient; they are dangerously slow to counteract the inevitable CO2 emissions. For instance, the idea of quickly replacing all conventional vehicles with electric ones, while a noble goal, is impractical. It could cause economic and social chaos, particularly in developing communities already enduring the most from of rapid global warming.
The Earth’s warming is primarily due to CO2 and other gases emitted by human activities. These gases form an envelope around our planet, allowing the sun’s heat to penetrate the Earth but preventing the same heat from being radiated back into space, creating a “greenhouse effect.”
If we could reduce the gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth—by capturing and removing enough gases—and simultaneously stop CO2 emissions, we could return more of the sun’s heat to space, lowering Earth’s surface temperatures.
However, extracting CO2 from the air is difficult, slow, and expensive. Consequently, scientists have been experimenting with various geoengineering concepts. One proposed method involves spreading a white powder in space to partially intercept the sun’s energy. Yet, the unknown potential side effects have led scientists to abandon this and other similar ideas.
On a more positive note, we’ve long understood that certain light-colored surfaces, like ice and snow, reflect a significant portion of the sun’s energy rather than absorbing it. This is known as the albedo effect. Increasing Earth’s albedo, or reflectivity, can achieve negative radiative forcing (RF), a powerful strategy to help slow global warming. These high-albedo surfaces act as mirrors, bouncing solar heat back into space. This potential solution gives us hope in the face of the climate crisis.
Built structures, including houses, buildings, and paved roads, cover 29% of the Earth’s surface. These structures absorb solar radiation, producing the “urban heat island” effect, where city temperatures are 3-5 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding rural areas. Scientific research has proven that increasing the albedo of urban areas can lower the planet’s average temperature.
Albedo refers to the solar reflectance of a surface. Depending on the degree of the albedo, the Earth reflects part of the incoming solar radiation into space. By increasing Earth’s albedo with more reflective surfaces, such as snow or reflective roofs (Cool Roofs), we can reduce the amount of solar energy absorbed by the planet, achieving a substantial global cooling effect. Extending this increase over large swathes of populated urban areas or regions most affected by heat, like the tropics and deserts, would provide a considerable solution to global warming quickly, safely, and economically without harming the economic development of emerging nations. This approach could have the same effect as removing 44 gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere or eliminating the emissions of over 600 million cars for the next 18 to 20 years.
To achieve a high albedo effect on rooftops (Cool Roofs) and eventually on paved roads is safe, fast, effective, and accessible to everyone. MACOMA is committed to promoting a global movement to implement this simple and rapid solution to global warming.
Cool Roofs not only increase terrestrial albedo but also passively cool building interiors, saving energy on air conditioning and reducing the emission of hydrofluorocarbon gases, which have a greenhouse effect 700 times greater than CO2. For those without air conditioning, Cool Roofs offer more comfort during extremely hot days.
On April 29, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, MACOMA signed a cooperation agreement with Scholas to implement Cool Roofs in low-income communities, schools, and other places where they will have the most positive impact and benefit the most vulnerable people. The initial phase of the global program will be financed by the sale of voluntary CO2 credits, leveraging a proven equivalence between CO2 capture and increased albedo on horizontal surfaces. The “simplified” methodology to calculate this equivalence was developed by Professor Hashem Akbari, PhD, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2007, and world-renowned environmental scholar.
The number of tons of CO2 that Cool Roofs can offset differs slightly in each geographical region. Generally, a high reflectance roof surface of 100 square meters creates an offset equivalent to capturing 20 to 31 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. This equivalency is particularly significant for mitigating global warming in regions between 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South of the Earth’s equator.
Words from Pope Francis
“No matter how much we try to deny, hide, dissemble, or relativize the signs of climate change, they are there, increasingly evident,” Pope Francis states in his papal encyclical Laudate Deum. The rise in temperatures and the greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have made climate change one of the main challenges on the international agenda. Its adverse effects necessitate urgent action to achieve carbon neutrality and strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable populations.
The Importance of Promoting Urban Systems Connected and in Harmony with Nature

Laudate Deum emphasizes the importance of human interaction with the environment,
highlighting how various cultures throughout history have sustainably created and
remodeled their surroundings without destroying or endangering them

Scientific References
1. Akbari, H., et al. (2023). A simplified method to calculate atmospheric CO2 equivalency for changing surface albedo. P. Rajagopalan, V. Soebarto and H. Akbari (Eds.), 6th International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Islands (IC2UHI), pp. 500- 511. ©2023, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
https://www.macoma.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Proceedings-Book-A-Simplified-Method-28FEB2024-1.pdf
2. Akbari, H., Menon, S., & Rosenfeld, A. (2009). Global cooling: Increasing world-wide urban albedos to offset CO2. Climatic Change, 94(3-4), 275-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9515-9
3. Menon, S., Akbari, H., Mahanama, S., Sednev, I., & Levinson, R. (2010). Radiative forcing and temperature response to changes in urban albedos and associated CO2 offsets. Environmental Research Letters, 5(1). https:// doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014005
4. Akbari, H., Matthews, H.D., & Seto, D. (2012). The long-term effect of increasing the albedo of urban areas. Environmental Research Letters, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024004
5. Akbari, H., Konopacki, S., & Pomerantz, M. (1999). Cooling energy savings potential of reflective roofs for residential and commercial buildings in the United States. Energy, 24(5), 391-407.
6. ASHRAE. (2012). International Weather for Energy Calculations Version 2 (IWEC2). American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
7. Hosseini, M., & Akbari, H. (2016). Effect of cool roofs on commercial buildings energy use in cold climates. Energy and Buildings, 114, 143-155
8. IPCC. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
9. Jandaghian, Z., & Akbari, H. (2021). Increasing urban albedo to reduce heat-related mortality in Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Energy and Buildings, 237.
10. Loeb, N.G., Johnson, G.C., Thorsen, T.J., Lyman, J.M., et al. (2021). Satellite and Ocean Data Reveal Marked Increase in Earth’s Heating Rate. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(13).
11. Kiehl, J.T., & Trenberth, K.E. (1997). Earth’s annual global mean energy budget. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 78(2), 197-208.
12. King, D.M., Platnick, S., Menzel, W.P., Ackerman, S.A., & Hubanks, P.A. (2013). Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Clouds Observed by MODIS Onboard the Terra and Aqua Satellites. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 51(7).
13. Myhre, G., Highwood, E.J., Shine, K.P., & Stordal, F. (1998). New estimates of radiative forcing due to well-mixed greenhouse gases. Geophysical Research Letters, 25(14), 2715-2718.
14. NOAA. (2022). Carbon dioxide now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.noaa.gov
15. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2008). TMY3 data for 1020 US locations. Technical Report NREL/TP-581-43156.
16. Valone, T.F. (2021). Linear Global Temperature Correlation to Carbon Dioxide Level, Sea Level, and Innovative Solutions to a Projected 6°C Warming by 2100. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 9, 84-135.
17. Vaughan, N.E., & Lenton, T.M. (2011). A review of climate geoengineering proposals. Climatic Change, 109, 745-790

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