Thinking negatively about negative emissions technologies: the vianegativa, carbon thinking, and climate ethics

The ancient and medieval method of the via negativa , or “way of negation,” is a method for thinking the unthinkable in philosophy, ethics, and religion. What happens when we consider the “negative” of negative emissions technologies (NETs) as a similar call to think negatively? The comparison uncovers how thinking “in the negative” is a metaphorical practice rather than a technical object. Seeing negative carbon thinking in this way highlights some of the challenges of current climate policies. Following a brief description of the “way of negation” as a theological method and a discussion of NETs and carbon removal, this essay suggests three lessons for ethical and political discussions of NETs: the need to use the phrase “NETs” as a metaphor, the inseparability of negative and affirmative proposals in climate policy, and the recognition that the phrase “NETs” is used as a practice of thinking, not a technological object for deployment.