Is the possibility of geoengineering (i.e., carbon sequestration combined with atmospheric intervention) a welcome solution to the threat of climate change, or is it merely a smokescreen to allow further use of fossil fuels? Jacobson explores this and many other salient questions in this timely, well-researched book. The author is a sociologist, and this book is written as a high-level sociological critique, using techniques of discourse analysis against what the author posits as "key genres," i.e., science policy writing, news media articles, and congressional hearing transcripts, covering the period 1991–2017…. The text features extensive references and a useful index. Highly recommended. Faculty and professionals. General readers.

Choice Reviews

A timely analysis of how geoengineering has gained traction in climate policy discussions … Written in clear and accessible prose, this book offers valuable insights into the intersection of science, politics, and technology and is an essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the role of knowledge politics in shaping climate action.

Environmental Politics

Brynna Jacobson offers a comprehensive analysis of the discourses surrounding geoengineering (GE). Jacobson examines key issues, including the increasing normalization of GE, the linkage between research and deployment, and whose voices are dominant and whose are ignored. Most importantly, Jacobson shows how powerful actors vested in an ever-growing and carbon-intensive economy have replaced much of their efforts focused on promoting climate denial and skepticism with efforts to promote GE as the answer to the climate crisis. This is a timely book that should be of interest to scholars, students, and all concerned citizens.

Diana Stuart, Northern Arizona University

Brynna Jacobson provides a reflexive analysis of the paradoxes that geoengineering evokes, refreshing in its account of the wider societal culture in which a narrative on how to ‘solve’ climate change through technological intervention could emerge.

Ina Möller, Wageningen University & Research

If you're interested in understanding why there is so little movement on climate change in the USA, then this is a must read. Focusing on policy debates around geoengineering, Brynna Jacobson unpacks the popular and policy narratives that transform geoengineering from a fringe interest into a major techno-fix in climate policy. Jacobson shows how this cheerleading for geoengineering ends up stymying climate action.

Kean Birch, Associate Professor, York University, Canada