Attractions of delay: Using deliberative engagement to investigate the political and strategic impacts of greenhouse gas removal technologies

Concerns have been raised that a focus on greenhouse gas removals (GGR) in climate models, scientific literature and other media might deter measures to mitigate change through reduction of emissions at source – the phenomenon ‘mitigation deterrence’. Given urgent need for action, any delay would be worrying. We convened nine deliberative workshops expose stakeholders futures scenarios involving mitigation deterrence. The examined ways which deterrence arise, how it could minimized. deliberation exposed social cultural interactions otherwise remain hidden. paper describes narratives ideas discussed regarding political economic mechanisms occur, plausibility such pathways, recommended reduce risk occurrence. Mitigation is interpreted as an important example ‘attraction delay’ setting there are many incentives procrastination. While our accepted historic persistence mitigation, some struggled accept similar processes, GGRs, may happening now. therefore also reviews claims made by participants about deterrence, identifying discursive strategies advocates carbon removal deploy deflect concerns conclude problem significant, needs recognized policy, its better understood. Based stakeholder proposals we suggest governing GGR maximize both means.