Innovation curse: the wastefulness of technologies believed to mitigate climate change

Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Valoree Gagnon, Thanh Tu Tran and Thi Mai Anh Tran ()
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Minh-Hoang Nguyen: Phenikaa University
Valoree Gagnon: Michigan Technological University
Thanh Tu Tran: University of Copenhagen
Thi Mai Anh Tran: Michigan Technological University

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Technological innovations are increasingly promoted as solutions to climate change. However, many innovations, including Carbon Capture and Storage, bioplastics, and glacier geo-engineering, suffer significant limitations from high costs, speculative efficacy, and adverse ecological consequences. Using Granular Interaction Thinking Theory (GITT), a transdisciplinary framework grounded in information theory, quantum mechanics, and mindsponge theory, in this study, we explain how such technological innovations become systemically favored despite their flaws. We introduce the concept of the “innovation curse,” which arises when institutional and cognitive filtering systems, operating under high informational entropy, default to familiar but ineffective techno-solutions while marginalizing Indigenous and Local Knowledges and nature-based approaches. To address this dysfunction, we propose the Eco-Surplus Transformation Framework, a new model for environmental decision-making designed to foster an eco-surplus culture. Guided by a core semiconducting principle that prohibits offsetting environmental harm with monetary value, the framework establishes a rational hierarchy for climate action that prioritizes harm prevention and proven ecological strategies. We provide the Eco-Surplus Governance Matrix as a toolkit for implementing this paradigm shift through institutional reform. Ultimately, our study argues for a fundamental reorientation of climate strategy away from technological solutionism and toward regenerative, community-driven practices rooted in Indigenous and Local Knowledges to foster long-term environmental resilience.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-06098-8

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