Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) could be used alongside mitigation to reduce global warming. Previous studies suggest that more atmospheric CO₂ is taken up when SAI is deployed. Here, we look at the entire SAI deployment from start to after termination. We show how the initial CO₂ uptake benefit, and hence lower mitigation burden, is reduced in later stages of SAI, where the reduction in natural CO₂ uptake turns into an additional mitigation burden.