Humanity’s technological audacity is the title of a debate held during the Przemiany 2021 Festival at the Copernicus Science Center on October 10. Participants discussed: geoengineering, i.e. ideas for “forceful” climate modification and the harnessing of climate change through science and technology; ITER and other revolutionary ideas for energy production; escape from Earth, i.e. plans of the first manned expedition to Mars, its colonisation and the so-called terraformation – creating Earth-like conditions with the use of powerful technological solutions.

The panellists summed up the energy expenditures of various visions. They noted that ambitious optimistic scenarios focused less on human technological audacity and perhaps more on challenges stemming from the need to change our habits and rethink the dominant economic systems are just as ambitious as far-fetched ideas from the realm of science fiction. Nonetheless, technical innovations are still needed and should also be pursued.

The discussion was attended by: prof. Paweł Frelik (University of Warsaw), Marcin Popkiewicz (analyst, journalist, Nauka o klimacie portal), Maciej Jagaciak (Polish Society for Futures Studies, Foresight Engineer at 4CF Strategic Foresight). The panel was conducted by Aleksandra Budka (journalist, Radio 357).