As the climate crisis worsens, scientists and policymakers are increasingly considering geoengineering concepts as a potential solution. However, deploying or researching technology, like solar geoengineering, remains highly controversial, with scientists on either end of the divide.

In this Mongabay webinar, journalists will learn how to better cover geoengineering concepts, while exploring the policy, research, and ethical questions surrounding them. Panelists include Jennie Stephens, professor of climate justice at National University of Ireland Maynooth, David Keith, founding faculty director at the Climate Systems Engineering initiative at the University of Chicago, and journalist Jeremy Hance.

This installment of Mongabay’s free webinar series for journalists will be broadcast live on YouTube and Mongabay’s LinkedIn channel.

The experts

JENNIE STEPHENS

Stephens is professor of climate justice at the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. She is a feminist climate justice scholar-activist whose work explores how powerful actors and institutions obstruct climate action. She is the author of the new book, Climate Justice and the University: Shaping a Hopeful Future for All (Hopkins University Press, forthcoming in December 2024). She was a 2023-2024 Climate Justice Fellow at Harvard-Radcliffe and was previously a professor at Northeastern University, University of Vermont, and Clark University.

JEREMY HANCE

Hance is a writer and freelance environmental journalist who also happens to cohabitate with mental illnesses. He is the author of the memoir Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac. As a journalist, Hance cut his teeth at Mongabay, beginning in 2009 and working as a lead writer and editor for six years. For over three years he wrote the blog Radical Conservation on the Guardian. Today, he is a columnist for Mongabay, frequently covering the topic of geoengineering.

DAVID KEITH

Keith is professor of geophysical sciences and founding faculty director of the Climate Systems Engineering initiative at the University of Chicago. Best known for his work on the science, technology, and public policy of solar geoengineering, David led the development of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program before moving to Chicago in 2023. He is the author of over 200 academic publications, many public op-eds and the book, A Case for Climate Engineering.