‘In conversation’ event: Lowering temperatures in heated geopolitical times? Solar Geoengineering Technology on a Planet in Crisis

Picture by Sue Winston on Unsplash

When: Wednesday 15 April 2026, 4.30-6PM

Where: Arts Two 3.20, Mile End Campus, Queen Mary University of London

Join us for this “in conversation” event sponsored by the Research Group in International Political Sociology in SPIR. Co-chairs Mirko Palestrino and Jef Huysmans will engage in a lively discussion with Dr. Danielle Young (Leeds) and Dr. Joanne Yao (QMUL) on solar geoengineering and its consequences as a planetary technology. 

Addressing climate change will be one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. However, since its creation in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has made slow progress in helping the world reduce carbon emission. This conversation focuses on growing interest in scientific and political forums on the development and use of solar geoengineering as another tool to lower global temperatures. In particular, we will discuss stratospheric aerosol injections (SAI) in which sulphur dioxide or other reflective participles are sprayed into the stratosphere to partially block out incoming solar radiation and temporarily cool global temperatures. Topics for discussion include SAI’s potential and risks as narrated by its proponents and critics; how rising geopolitical tensions and militarism around the world might inform and complicate the governance of such a technology; and Danielle and Joanne’s funded research project using non-ideal simulations as one way to study the interplay of science, complexity, and geopolitical competition. 

Coffee, tea, and cake will be served.