Climate Justice Groups Urge Governments to Reject Risky Geoengineering “Technofixes” at UN Climate Talks
As the SB62 UN Climate Talks continue in Bonn, Germany, a coalition of civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, and climate justice advocates are issuing a strong call for governments to reject geoengineering, which they describe as a dangerous distraction from real climate action.
The groups condemned the growing push for speculative technologies such as Solar Radiation Management (SRM) and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) — arguing these proposals serve powerful interests, delay meaningful emissions cuts, and threaten the rights and sovereignty of frontline communities, especially in the Global South.
“Geoengineering is not a solution – it’s a smokescreen,” said Kwami Kpondzo of the Global Forest Coalition and HOME Alliance Africa Working Group. “We need urgent emissions reductions, not distractions that let polluters keep polluting.”
Climate Colonialism in Disguise
Speakers emphasized that the Global South is being treated as a testing ground for unproven technologies by actors from the Global North — the same regions historically responsible for the climate crisis.
“Geoengineering is climate colonialism, plain and simple,” said Dr. Mfoniso Xael of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation. “Africa is not your laboratory, your carbon sink, or for sale.”
They also highlighted how carbon markets and offset mechanisms are enabling the expansion of geoengineering by offering greenwashed pathways for polluters to avoid real change. These markets are already linked to land grabs, human rights violations, and exploitative practices across Africa and other vulnerable regions.
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Under Threat
“These technologies are modern-day experiments on Indigenous lands,” warned Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “The UN must uphold the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples and stop paving the way for corporate-led geoengineering through mechanisms like Article 6.”
Failed Projects, Proven Resistance
The coalition pointed to a series of recent project shutdowns — including the SCoPEx project (Harvard), Running Tide, and marine cloud brightening in California — as evidence of growing global resistance and scientific uncertainty surrounding geoengineering.
“Our planet is not a laboratory,” said Coraina de la Plaza, Coordinator of the Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Alliance. “We need proven, people-led solutions rooted in justice — not risky experiments that threaten our shared future.”
Youth Voices: Reject False Solutions
“There is no future that includes fossil fuel expansion,” added Dylan Hamilton of the Alliance of Non-Governmental Radical Youth. “Geoengineering is a corporate delay tactic. We demand climate justice — not climate manipulation.”
Civil Society Demands
As momentum builds ahead of COP30 in Brazil, the groups are calling on world governments to:
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Reject all geoengineering proposals and experiments
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Support a global Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement
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Affirm the precautionary principle as set out under the Convention on Biological Diversity
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Prioritize community-led climate solutions that reduce emissions at the source and uplift Indigenous knowledge
“We’re standing together to remind leaders: the time for real climate action is now,” said the coalition. “Not with technofixes. Not with false hope. But with justice, courage, and urgency.”
