Technology can save us, can’t it? he emergence of the ‘techno-ix’ narrative in climate politics 437 Alexander RUSER * Amanda MACHIN * TECHNOLOGY CAN SAVE US, CAN’T IT? THE EMERGENCE OF THE ‘TECHNO-FIX’ NARRATIVE IN CLIMATE POLITICS Abstract: he Paris Agreement of 2015 recognizes ‘that climate change represents an ur- gent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus requires the widest possible cooperation by all countries, and their participation in an efective and ap- propriate international response’. A common reaction to such a statement has been to call for emissions reduction. his, however, requires investment in energy saving technologies and the fundamental transformation of fossil fuel based economies and high-consumption life-styles. In other words, ‘saving the planet’ would spell the end of a concept of modernity, which has served as a vanishing point for most developing countries. he viability of this post-growth paradigm is questionable. National egoisms, vested interests of global corporations and the chronic social addiction to oil constitute considerable obstacles to address climate change. One alternative to the post-growth narrative is centered around the ‘techno-ix’. Here, technological innovation has not only instituted the problem of climate change, but will also provide the solution! Technologies such as solar radiation management and carbon seques- tration are attractive precisely because they ix the problem without any lifestyle change: ‘the technologist´s way tries to avoid changing peoples habits or motivations’. Critics of the tech- no-ix narrative, however, argue that it should be rejected as the latest attempt of liberal pro- ponents of pro-growth positions to delay ‘necessary’ social, political and economic change. In this contribution we analyse the presuppositions and implications of both the ‘techno- ix’ narrative and its critique. Both positions, we argue, fail to grasp the socio-political in- tricacies of technological development. Since technology is embedded in its social context it cannot be instituted or rejected prior to political decision-making, but rather necessarily in- volves on-going social and political analysis. Key Words: Technology, Climate change, techno-ix, ecomodernism, pluralism INTRODUCTION he Paris Agreement of 2015 recognizes ‘that climate change represents an ur- gent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus * Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Germany