There is a perverse incentive in vertical farming. There is no logical reason to farm indoors while the land outdoors is still arable. This means any form of pollution that makes land less arable increases the relative profitability of vertical farming. Accelerated desertification is good for your business because then you can collect solar energy or wind energy there with little resistance.
My expectation is that if this technology was widely deployed in the Sahara, any afforestation attempts would be cut short because they step on the toes of the vertical farming guys.
My expectation is that if this technology was widely deployed in the Sahara, any afforestation attempts would be cut short because they step on the toes of the vertical farming guys.