Is techno-solutionism only a characteristic of US tech magnates, such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates? According to some, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose alarming reports on the climate crisis carry global weight, also demonstrates a "technophile bias," prioritizing technological solutions and innovation over restraint. This thesis is put forward by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, a historian of science and technology and columnist for Le Monde, in the September issue of the scientific journal Energy Research & Social Science.

Fressoz, a research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), examined the work and organization of the IPCC's Working Group III. This group is responsible for evaluating solutions to climate change. Fressoz reached a startling conclusion: Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 or 2070 through technological solutions that would limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C or 2°C by the end of the century is "unattainable."

In his view, scientists must acknowledge this because by maintaining the "illusion" of feasibility, they give visibility and legitimacy to "speculative" technologies, "narrow the range of viable policy options" and "delay" the structural transformations needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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