Technofix

The appeal of a techno-fix is simple: it promises to cure problems without requiring society to change the habits that caused them in the first place.

It would be unwise, however, to assume that such technofixes will always be available.

Much of the effort reflected in the chapters in this book is concerned with going beyond the technofix of designing new, more environmentally friendly cars, to confront the more difficult challenges of institutional, cultural and social change[…]

Such huge behavioural change depends on knowledge sharing on a pan-species scale, rather than on fragmentary technofixes.

The research, published in Nature Climate Change today delivers yet another demonstration that there is so far no feasible “technofix” that would allow humans to go on mining and drilling for coal, oil and gas (known as the “business as usual” scenario), and then geoengineer a solution when climate change becomes calamitous.