Imminent overshoot of 1.5C is quickly bringing Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) closer to the climate policy agenda, raising profound ethical and sociopolitical challenges. To investigate this multilayered dilemma, this PhD proceeded across three arcs. Firstly, the research establishes a practical governance framework for ethically justifiable deployment through non-ideal theory grounded in latest scientific understanding of SAI. Second, a new philosophical orientation, the "Terrestrial worldview" is articulated as a necessary foundation for rigorous deliberation to overcome entrenched disagreements over hubris and uncertainty. Finally, this thesis tackles challenges of research ethics for SAI today by establishing a novel synthesis of virtue epistemology applied to socio-environmental systems modelling, explored in application to a reflexive case study of an integrated assessment model RICE50. The conclusion anticipates a promising pathway for responsibly approaching the question of whether humanity should or should not intervene in Earth's climate system.

About the Speaker

Adrian is finalizing his PhD at the Fenner School and ANU Institute for Water Futures, applying interdisciplinary methods towards investigating the ethics, governance and epistemic complexities of climate interventions. He has a background in mathematics, physics and complex adaptive systems science with a passion for applied philosophy.

Adrian is also a strategic research analyst at Civilization Research Institute, a US-based non-profit working on reducing global catastrophic risks through the framework of the metacrisis. His work focuses on large-scale risks across Earth systems, climate and ecology.