Fuel to the Fire: How Geoengineering Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Accelerate the Climate Crisis

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the fossil fuel industry's involvement in the development and promotion of geoengineering technologies, arguing that these strategies are used to justify the continued use of carbon-intensive fuels and avoid systemic change.

• The fossil fuel industry is actively involved in the development, patenting, and promotion of geoengineering technologies, specifically those related to carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification.
• Major producers of fossil fuels use the hypothetical potential of future geoengineering to justify the continued production and use of coal, oil, and gas for several decades.
• There is a contradiction between the narrative that geoengineering is a necessary addition to climate action and the commercial view that it serves as a means to reduce or avoid the need for systemic change.
• The viability of the most promoted solar radiation modification and carbon dioxide removal strategies depends on the continued combustion and production of carbon-intensive fuels.
• The report asserts that addressing the climate crisis is primarily a matter of political will rather than a technological challenge, making reliance on speculative geoengineering incoherent.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2019). Fuel to the Fire: How Geoengineering Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Accelerate the Climate Crisis. https://www.ciel.org/reports/fuel-to-the-fire-how-geoengineering-threatens-to-entrench-fossil-fuels-and-accelerate-the-climate-crisis-feb-2019/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Fuel to the Fire: How Geoengineering Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Accelerate the Climate Crisis. 2019. https://www.ciel.org/reports/fuel-to-the-fire-how-geoengineering-threatens-to-entrench-fossil-fuels-and-accelerate-the-climate-crisis-feb-2019/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Fuel to the Fire: How Geoengineering Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Accelerate the Climate Crisis |date=13 February 2019 |url=https://www.ciel.org/reports/fuel-to-the-fire-how-geoengineering-threatens-to-entrench-fossil-fuels-and-accelerate-the-climate-crisis-feb-2019/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2019fuel, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Fuel to the Fire: How Geoengineering Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Accelerate the Climate Crisis}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/reports/fuel-to-the-fire-how-geoengineering-threatens-to-entrench-fossil-fuels-and-accelerate-the-climate-crisis-feb-2019/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }