A scathing critique of proposals to geoengineer our way out of
climate disaster by the bestselling author of How to Blow Up a
Pipeline
It might soon be far
too hot on this planet. What do we do then? In the era of
“overshoot,” schemes abound for turning down the heat–not now,
but a few decades down the road. We’re being told that we can
return to liveable temperatures by means of technologies for removing
CO2 from the air or blocking incoming sunlight.If they even exist,
such technologies are not safe.
They come with
immense uncertainties and risks. Worse, like magical promises of
future redemption, they might provide reasons for continuing to emit
in the present. But do they also hold some potentials? In Overshoot
two leading climate scholars subject the plans for saving the planet
after it’s been wrecked to critical study. Carbon dioxide removal
is already having effects, as an excuse for continuing business as
usual, while geoengineering promises to bail out humanity if the heat
reaches critical levels.
Both distract from
the one urgent task: to slash emissions now. There can be no further
delay. The climate revolution is long overdue, and in the end, no
technology can absolve us of its tasks.