  As the conversation around using geoengineering to combat climate change
intensifies, it is imperative to engage the public and deeply understand their
perspectives on geoengineering research, development, and potential deployment.
Through a comprehensive data-driven investigation, this paper explores the
types of news that captivate public interest in geoengineering. We delved into
30,773 English-language news articles from the BBC and the New York Times,
combined with Google Trends data spanning 2018 to 2022, to explore how public
interest in geoengineering fluctuates in response to news coverage of broader
climate issues. Using BERT-based topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and
time-series regression models, we found that positive sentiment in
energy-related news serves as a good predictor of heightened public interest in
geoengineering, a trend that persists over time. Our findings suggest that
public engagement with geoengineering and climate action is not uniform, with
some topics being more potent in shaping interest over time, such as climate
news related to energy, disasters, and politics. Understanding these patterns
is crucial for scientists, policymakers, and educators aiming to craft
effective strategies for engaging with the public and fostering dialogue around
emerging climate technologies.
