COP30: CSOs, indigenous groups warn against rising threat of geoengineering

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), Indigenous groups, and youth movements has issued a stark warning against what they describe as “the growing threat” of geoengineering, large-scale technological schemes aimed at deliberately manipulating the Earth’s systems to counter climate change.

In a statement by the Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Alliance, the group said it was joined by organisations such as Friends of the Earth International, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), and the Global Forest Coalition.

They warned that geoengineering proposals are increasingly being promoted through carbon markets and mechanisms linked to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

“Carbon markets are a scam,” said Sara Shaw of Friends of the Earth International. “They open the door for risky geoengineering experiments and other false solutions that fail to cut emissions while harming communities. It’s alarming that an entire pavilion at COP30 is devoted to Carbon Dioxide Removal technologies — a smokescreen for dangerous distractions.”

The groups argue that these unproven technologies, including carbon capture and solar radiation management, not only fail to tackle the root causes of climate change but also risk deepening global inequalities and environmental damage.

Coraina de la Plaza of the HOME Alliance said: “Geoengineering has no place in genuine climate action. It’s turning COP30 into a playground for corporate greenwashing, diverting attention from real, rights-based and community-driven climate solutions.”

Indigenous leaders also condemned geoengineering as a continuation of historical exploitation. Adrienne Aakaluk Blatchford of the IEN called it “a new form of colonialism,” warning that such projects threaten Indigenous sovereignty, food systems, and ecosystems. “History shows that Indigenous peoples know best how to manage lands sustainably,” she said, urging the UN to uphold the existing moratorium on geoengineering.

Youth movements from the Global South voiced similar resistance. Alejandro Jamies of the Alliance of Non-Governmental Radical Youth (ANGRY) said, “We reject being co-opted by geoengineering proponents. Manipulating nature won’t save us from climate disasters — it only benefits institutions disconnected from our realities.”

At the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, activists highlighted major carbon dioxide removal projects involving biochar and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), linking them to land dispossession and deforestation. Jana Uemura of the Global Forest Coalition described them as “dispossession, not decarbonisation.”

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The HOME Alliance and its partners applauded African nations’ stance at the 20th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN20) earlier this year, where governments called for a global non-use agreement on solar geoengineering.

The Alliance announced plans to relaunch its “Stop Geoengineering” manifesto at the People’s Summit (Cúpula dos Povos) on November 12, reaffirming demands to halt all outdoor experiments, end carbon markets, and prioritize transformative, rights-based, and gender-just climate solutions.

Founded in 2010 at the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the Hands Off Mother Earth Alliance now brings together nearly 200 organisations from over 45 countries across the Global North and South.