Whose climate intervention? Solar geoengineering, fractions of capital, and hegemonic strategy

Bibliographic Data

ID5771633
AuthorsKevin Surprise (0000-0001-7777-6948, Mount Holyoke College, corresponding author), Jean Philippe Sapinski (Université de Moncton)
Year2021
Publication date2021-12-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypePREPRINT
PublisherCenter for Open Science (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.31235/osf.io/ebwqn
OpenAlexW4200178950
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited9

Proposals for slowing climate change by reflecting sunlight back to space, known as solar geoengineering (SG), are gaining traction in climate policy. Given SG's capacity to slow warming without reducing carbon emissions, prominent criticism suggests that it will enable fossil fueled business-as-usual. This assessment is not without merit, yet the primary funders of SG research do not emanate from fossil capital. We analyze sources of funding for SG research, finding close ties to financial and technological capital as well as a number of billionaire philanthropists. These corporate sectors and associated philanthropies comprise part of "climate capital" - the fraction of the capitalist class aligned with climate action. We argue that SG is being positioned as a tactic for enabling incremental, market-driven decarbonization, explore key institutions advocating this approach in US climate policy, and conclude that SG is poised to serve as a tool for class compromise between fossil and climate capital

Capital (architecture · Compromise · Climate Change and Geoengineering · Global Energy and Sustainability Research

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Open DOIOpen Access