Science, Technology, and Society Seminar: STS Circle at Harvard

Two-toned blue graphic background with the name of the seminar in white on top.

Date and Time

April 27, 2026
12:15PM - 02:00PM EDT

Location

CGIS South, S354

1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Disposing Fossil Modernity: The Technopolitics of Carbon Removal

Speaker

  • Andreas Folkers, Marie Curie Fellow, Columbia University.

Chair

  • Sheila Jasanoff, Faculty Associate. Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies; Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy, Committee on Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.

Contact

Henry Austin
henryaustin@hks.harvard.edu

Abstract

The talk investigates carbon removal and climate remediation as technologies of climate emergency governance beyond the catastrophe threshold. It will illuminate the role of Negative Emission Technologies (NETs) in climate politics and contrast two framings of removal: a tool to guarantee climate mitigation efficiency and a technology of climate repair in an unfolding emergency. I argue that climate repair is part of a broader set of environmental technologies that act in the aftermath of emergencies like restoration, rewilding, and remediation and systematically differ from anticipatory techniques like precaution, preemption, and preparedness.

Bio

Andreas Folkers is a Marie Curie Fellow at Columbia University, New York and member of the research council of the Institute for Social Research, Frankfurt. His work brings together Science and Technology Studies and critical theories to analyze topics such as bio- and technopolitics, capital, and climate. During the fellowship, Andreas will work on a project on the technopolitics of carbon removal. His second book Fossil Modernity. A natural history of the present (forthcoming with Suhrkamp Verlag, 2026, German; Zone/Princeton University Press 2027, English) provides a critical reappraisal of modernity theory by analyzing the rise, fall, and afterlife of fossil fuels.

Register for in-person or virtual event

Register to attend in person Register to attend virtually
See also:
Share on:
Save: Add to calendar

Valuing Accessibility

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the access provided, please get in touch with the person listed as the contact on the individual event listing in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the Weatherhead Center will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.