Governing the sun? Global security and governance of Solar Radiationi Modification
When: Tuesday 06 October 2026 | 11:30-12:30
Format: Breakout session
Hosted by: German Federal Foreign Office
This session will take stock of expanding research and the intensifying global debate around Solar Radiation Modification. It will examine its global security dimensions, which are closely intertwined with its environmental risks. Taking a risk-centred approach, the session will explore questions of unilateral action, geopolitical tensions, transboundary impacts, contested attribution and global justice, including perspectives from Africa and the wider Global South.
The discussion will also consider
• What environmental and geopolitical security risks could arise from the development or potential deployment of SRM and how these risks could affect international relations and global stability
• Whether these risks and the potentially global consequences of SRM make a more comprehensive international approach to SRM than currently exists is needed particularly from a security perspective
• What role international law can play, and whether comprehensive and effective global governance arrangements, including a global non-use agreement, should be pursued.
Speakers:
- Aarti Gupta, Professor of Global Environmental Governance Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University and Research
- Danielle N. Young, Assistant Professor, School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Leeds
- Uta Klönne, Senior Science Advisor Climate Science and Impacts, Climate Analytics
Moderated by Dr. Kira Vinke, Deputy Research Director and Head of Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Return to the BCSC 2026 Agenda.