Invited talks and keynotes
Transitions in Turbulent Times: Partnering for Impact
3 June 2025
Invited speaker in session for external partners,
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Science Forum.
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Focus on actions and innovations that facilitate much needed societal transformations​
Science Advice in a Contested World: A Case Study of Solar Radiation Modification
26 May 2025
Invited speaker at the EU Scientific Advisory Mechanism conference on ‘Building Bridges: Shaping Europe’s Science-For-Policy Landscape’, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Link to the event overview.
Contestations around transparency and trust in multilateral discussions on solar radiation modification
19 - 20 May 2025
Invited speaker in the session on 'Building Trust: Enhancing Inclusivity, Collaboration and Data Sharing in Solar Radiation Modification Research' at the invitation-only Consultative Workshop and Science-Policy Dialogue on Solar Radiation Modification, organized by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland.
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I emphasized contestations around data generation and sharing relating to SRM, including what data is seen as important to decision-making, whose evidence counts and who is considered an expert in this contested space.
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The Politics of Global Climate Governance: A Focus on Transparency and Technology
6 May 2025
Invited speaker at the Higher Seminar, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Managing Solar Radiation Management: Expert Dialogue
17 April 2025
Invited expert to exchange perspectives, fill knowledge gaps, and advance understanding of the science and politics around solar radiation modification.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (online).
Anticipatory Governance of Novel Technologies: The Case of Solar Geoengineering Governance
10 April 2025
Invited speaker at Environmental Politics, Policy and Learning (EPPLE) Seminar, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Sweden.
The Climate Crisis and Scholar Activism:
The Necessity and the Challenges
7 April 2025
Inaugural Lecture upon taking up the 2025 Zennström Professor of Climate Change Leadership, Uppsala University
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In addressing the climate crisis, what should be the role of the engaged scientist? What kind of science-society contract can help to address anticipatory challenges, such as climate change, where potential options to reduce climate impacts might be accompanied by uncertain and unknowable future risks, harms or benefits, which will manifest in a highly unequal and geopolitically tense world? What if scientists fundamentally disagree about these options? There is an urgent need, I argue, for scholar activism in this context of contested science. I discuss in this lecture how I have sought to engage with this need, both conceptually and in practice.
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Description of event available here
The politics of global environmental governance
5 March 2025
Presentation on research programme in global environmental governance to the Climate Change Leadership Group, Uppsala University.
The Earth System Governance Project: The Research Alliance, Vision, and Network Elements
4 March 2025
Presentation about the Earth System Governance research alliance (with Mikael Karlsson and Frank Biermann) at the launch event of UUniCORN (Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus).
More information about UUniCORN is here.
EU Scientific Advisory Mechanism webinar:
Solar radiation modification: What’s at stake for society?
3 February 2025
In this webinar, organized by the Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission, I presented key messages from the Evidence Review Report, produced by an expert group appointed by the EU's Science Advice Mechanism, to review the current state-of-the-art evidence on SRM technologies, risks and governance challenges. As a member of this Expert Working Group that produced the Evidence Review Report (ERR), I outlined key challenges covered in the report regarding governing of SRM research. These challenges include distinguishing and exercising oversight over small and large-scale research, assessing social and political risks, ensuring transparency—including of private-sector involvement—and ensuring that research into SRM does not weaken climate mitigation efforts.
Core messages from the ERR also included a need to govern to avoid the risk of a “slippery slope” from research to deployment. To safeguard against these risks, the ERR calls for strict oversight measures, mandatory disclosure, impact assessments, and oversight of commercial interests like patents and “cooling credits.” The report also warns that small-scale studies can never reveal SRM’s long-term, global-scale impacts, but might lull researchers and decision-makers into believing that evidence-based decisions in this area are feasible.
The Evidence Review Report is available here. ​
Governing towards non-use of
solar geoengineering: Rationales and pathways
16 January 2025
Invited Speaker​
Workshop on Climate Intervention Governance
Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo
Challenges and complexities of anticipatory (global) governance: The case of solar geoengineering
5 December 2024
Distinguished Lecture, Department of Environmental Change (TEMA) Linköping University, Sweden
An Accountability Deficit in the UNFCCC
TRANSGOV Project engagements at COP29, Baku
November 2024
At COP29, I addressed the accountability deficit within the UNFCCC, particularly in areas like adaptation finance, loss and damage funding, and the new climate finance goals. Together with my TRANSGOV colleagues Max van Deursen, Alice Rotiroti and Rohan Agarwal, we drew attention to how the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework fails to ensure meaningful accountability.
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In a press conference, I also warned that this accountability deficit enables speculative technologies like solar radiation modification (SRM) to gain traction, despite strong resistance from some Global South nations advocating for climate justice.
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Further details are on the TRANSGOV website at: https://trans-gov.org/cop29-engagement/
Questioning the Status Quo: What does engagement in UNFCCC climate transparency systems deliver for Ethiopia?
October 24, 2024
Opening talk at an academic-practitioner dialogue on climate transparency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Together with postdoctoral researcher Dr. Rahwa Kidane, PhD candidate Max van Deursen and researcher Alice Rotiroti, we organized a multi-stakeholder dialogue involving over 30 Ethiopian climate policymakers and transparency practitioners in Addis Ababa.
Our goal was to assess the relevance of UNFCCC transparency obligations for Ethiopia’s domestic policy processes and its potential for leveraging benefits, such as resource mobilization and effective climate action. ​Through interactive sessions, we examined Ethiopia’s past engagement with transparency, its practical outcomes, and envisioned how future approaches might better align with national priorities.
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A detailed description is at: ​
Solar geoengineering governance:
Challenges and considerations
September 24, 2024
Session convenor and opening speaker
Solar Geoengineering: Governance, Risks and Political Challenges
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79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Science Summit.
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In my opening talk, I discussed the global governance challenges associated with solar geoengineering, focusing on sulfate aerosol injection as a highly speculative and risky planetary intervention. I argued that governance must not be treated as an afterthought but as a fundamental first-order concern in determining whether such technologies should even be contemplated. I highlighted the implausibility of fair, effective, and stable global governance for solar geoengineering in a world marked by inequality and geopolitical tensions. Instead, I emphasized the urgency of governance frameworks oriented toward non-use, drawing on existing restrictive international norms and recent political developments, such as Mexico’s ban on outdoor experiments. My position is that discussions on solar geoengineering risk distracting from and undermining the much needed just transition away from fossil fuels and diverts resources from proven solutions to the climate crisis.
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The session as a whole offered a range of perspectives on risks and governance challenges posed by SRM, from governments, UN agencies, civil society representatives, Indigenous Peoples, youth representatives and academics (session video available)​
Solar geoengineering governance: Five propositions
September 21, 2024
Invited speaker
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Geoengineering in Crisis: The Princeton Workshop on Geoengineering Ethics and Governance​
Princeton University, USA
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Fit for Purpose? UNFCCC Climate Transparency versus LDC Needs and Priorities
June 8, 2024
On the sidelines of the 60th sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, the TRANSGOV project organized an interactive workshop with negotiators from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), entitled ‘Questioning the Status Quo: What does LDC engagement in UNFCCC transparency arrangements deliver?’
The workshop took place at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
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A detailed description with aims and outcomes is at:
https://trans-gov.org/2024/07/01/transgov-nwo-impact-explorer-project/
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Pakhuis de Zwijger: A Cold War on Global Warming
June 10, 2024
At one of the premier public debate centers in Amsterdam, bringing multiple actors together to discuss key societal issues of our times, I participated in a debate on solar radiation modification with a Dutch climate negotiator, a journalist from the Dutch national newspaper NRC, and a fellow academic.
In my intervention, I emphasized the many dangers of normalizing solar radiation modification research and technology development. I argued that framing SRM as inevitable risks creating a self-fulfilling prophecy; and that SRM can never be fairly or inclusively governed because of unequal regional impacts and the geopolitical power dynamics involved in decision-making. I noted my support for an international non-use agreement, advocating for SRM to be taken off the table to ensure we stay focused on climate mitigation efforts. ​
Can Solar Geoengineering Ever Be Governed?
June 3, 2024
Opening talk delivered at the Global Challenges Foundation Workshop on Solar Geoengineering, Stockholm, Sweden​
Accountability in Global Climate Governance, Amsterdam Complexity School on Climate Change
May 2, 2024
As a keynote speaker at this event, I shared insights on the critical need for accountability, responsibility, and equity in global climate governance, particularly as solar geoengineering edges toward normalization. This risky and speculative idea raises significant governance and political challenges, which is why I have co-initiated an academic call for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering. I laid out the many rationales for this call for non-use during my talk.​
UBA (German Environment Agency), Dessau
February 15, 2024
I presented on the governance challenges of solar radiation management (SRM), highlighting how these decisions are embedded in a context of global injustice. Claims that SRM could ‘buy time’ for sustainable transformation lack historical precedent and deserve political scrutiny, especially regarding who stands to gain or lose. I also critiqued the vague governance proposals that often sideline core moral and political dilemmas, which I believe should be at the forefront.​
Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam
January 10, 2024
I was invited to be part of the 'Planeetkoelers' (planet coolers) event on solar radiation modification organized at this Amsterdam cultural institution that organizes debates on key societal issues with the public. I discussed the many dangers of solar radiation modification (SRM) as a potential future climate policy option, together with two natural science colleagues. I focused in particular on the global governance and justice and human rights challenges posed by these speculative and risky technologies, and participated in a lively discussion with an audience of over 200 members of the public.
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Science-for-Policy Engagement at the UNFCCC: Whose priorities does climate transparency reflect?
December 2023
Together with TRANSGOV post-docs Hyeyoon Park and Rahwa Kidane, and PhD candidates Max van Deursen and Heather Jacobs, I engaged in various science-for-policy events at COP28 in Dubai.
TRANSGOV was the lead organizer of a side-event and an academic-practitioner dialogue on the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework.​
COP28 SRM Youth Watch
December 2023
Engaging with youth movements on solar radiation modification during the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) in Dubai. ​
Montreal Protocol Pavilion at COP-28:
Debating Solar Radiation Modification
December 2023
I was invited by the Ozone Secretariat to participate in their Montreal Protocol Pavilion event on Stratospheric Aerosol Injection: what is the fuss? during the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) in Dubai. I discussed the global governance challenges posed by stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), a specific kind of solar geoengineering, and explained why a group of academics were urging the UN and governments to agree to an international non-use agreement on solar geoengineering techniques such as SAI. ​​
University of Darmstadt, Project on Global Standards, Supply Chains and Accountability
November 17, 2023
Invited talk on Global Standards and Accountability in Sustainability Governance
Nijmegan Conference on Earth System Governance
October 2023
Opening plenary speaker on the Earth System Governance Research Alliance: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead
In my capacity as Co-Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Earth System Governance Research Alliance.
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Global Change Institute, University of Witwatersrand
October 2, 2023
Together with TRANSGOV PhD Max van Deursen, we held a presentation and discussion session at the Global Change Institute at the University of Witwatersrand, moderated by Prof. Laura Pereira. This session contributed to TRANSGOV case study research on South Africa’s engagement in UNFCCC transparency arrangements.​
African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town
September 27, 2023
Together with TRANSGOV PhD Max van Deursen, we hosted a seminar at the African Climate and Development Initiative at the University of Cape Town. TRANSGOV national partner Prof. Harald Winkler acted as discussant. This seminar contributed to case study research on South Africa’s engagement in UNFCCC transparency arrangements.​
United Nations Science Summit, New York
September 26, 2023
I highlighted my concerns relating to solar radiation modification at the UNESCO, TERI, Degrees Initiative, and Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) discussion on this topic during the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit. I emphasized that the growing interest in SRM risks diverting attention from essential climate actions needed in this critical decade. I argued that SRM could potentially worsen global climate challenges rather than alleviate them, especially given the lack of robust global governance structures to manage its risks equitably, stably and in an effective manner over time. ​
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)
September 18, 2023
Invited speaker on a special 'grey swan' event on solar geoengineering governance.​
Better Climate Governance Conference
September 6, 2023
Keynote speaker, where I emphasized the urgent need for meaningful accountability in climate governance. I argued that voluntary efforts alone won’t suffice to tackle the climate crisis. True accountability requires mandatory, legally binding commitments with enforceable standards. Without these, we face an ongoing accountability deficit, even as transparency and voluntary reporting expand.​
'TransTerre' Event by Normandy Chair for Peace and CNRS, France
June 26, 2023
At the TransTerre event, organized by the Normandy Chair for Peace and CNRS, I was invited to discuss the governance challenges of solar geoengineering. I argued for an international "non-use" agreement on these technologies, specifically addressing stratospheric aerosol injection as a speculative and high-risk approach. I emphasized that such planetary-scale interventions present unknowable risks and could deepen existing climate injustices, as the impacts would likely be unevenly distributed. Without inclusive global decision-making frameworks, fair governance of solar geoengineering seems implausible. I concluded that even keeping this option on the table could delay the urgent action needed on emission reductions.​
Climate Strategies Network Seminar
May 31, 2023
Invited speaker for a network member seminar for internal debate on solar radiation modification (research) governance.​
NVBM Spring Symposium
April 12, 2023
Invited speaker on "Solar Radiation Modification: A Social Science Perspective." For NVBM, the Dutch Society for the promotion of Meteorology. ​
India's engagement with UNFCCC transparency: Between a rock and a hard place?
March 30, 2023
The Transparency in Climate Governance (TRANSGOV) project and the Indian think tank Center for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) co-hosted an academic-practitioner workshop on India’s engagement in UNFCCC transparency arrangements in New Delhi, India.
The event brought Indian transparency and climate policy practitioners together with Wageningen University and CEEW researchers to discuss the benefits and burdens of participating in UNFCCC transparency arrangements from a developing country perspective. ​
Solar Geoengineering: A Dangerous Distraction in an Unequal World
February 2nd, 2023
Keynote Speaker
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Ethics & Solar Geoengineering Conference
Carr Center for Human Rights
Harvard University​
COP27 TRANSGOV Side-event
November 15, 2022
At this official UNFCCC side event organized by the TRANSGOV project, I presented on the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement and its role in advancing climate action. My talk focused on whether transparency can truly be transformative or if it risks becoming a distraction from taking climate action. I shared findings from TRANSGOV research at Wageningen University, highlighting that while transparency requirements are now central in the Paris Agreement, they often place heavy burdens on countries with fewer resources. Additionally, I discussed how capacity-building efforts focus on reporting on mitigation actions, rather than on adaptation or loss and damage, reflecting existing inequalities and competing priorities in global climate governance.​
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The event involved transparency and climate policy experts and practitioners from developing countries.
Radical Transparency and GHG Emissions:
US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine NASEM Workshop
June 27-28, 2022
In a talk on transparency and GHG inventories for a NASEM workshop, I presented a social science perspective on the rise of radical satellite-generated transparency as it relates to global greenhouse gas inventories. I discussed the promises and pitfalls of using satellite technology for transparency and accountability in climate governance.​
University of Darmstadt
January 2022
Invited speaker. Why call for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering?​
Wageningen University & Research: Inaugural Lecture (Oratie)
December 2, 2021
At my inaugural lecture (oratie) as Professor in Global Environmental Governance at Wageningen University & Research, I highlighted my research vision and agenda for the coming years. I emphasized themes of transparency, anticipatory governance and multilateralism and justice in global environmental governance.​
Keynote: Opening the Black Box of Radical Transparency in Global Forest Policy:
International Forest Policy Conference
March 17, 2021
At this conference, I delivered a keynote address on the promises and perils of seeking radical transparency in global environmental governance, with a particular focus on the implications for increased satellite-enabled datafication in forest governance. I explored critical questions around who stands to benefit from this digital turn in forest governance. This discussion sparked a broader reflection on the transformative promise of transparency in global environmental and forest governance.
Whither the Global Common Good?
Semi-plenary talk at the Oaxaca Conference on Earth System Governance: Urgent Transformations
November 7, 2019
At the Conference on Urgent Transformations in Earth System Governance in Oaxaca, Mexico, I give a semi-plenary talk on the concept of the ‘Global Common Good,’ assessing its relevance for international cooperation on sustainable development. My contribution explored whether this concept can serve as a guiding framework for addressing complex global issues, asking what a common good consists of and who gets to decide. ​
Keynote on Digitalization and Sustainability:
Expert Workshop
September 18, 2019
During this opening talk, I discussed the implications of digital transparency for global sustainability governance. I highlighted the optimism around digital tools for enhancing transparency, while raising questions around access and control of these technologies and the data they generate. I stressed the importance of critically examining who controls digital tools and with what consequences for equity and effective outcomes in digital-era sustainability practices.​
Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance
November 6, 2018
During a panel at the Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance, I contributed to discussions on the new science agenda for Earth System Governance. I examined how this agenda could advance the understanding and governance of sustainability in a complex world, particularly with respect to the integration of diverse perspectives and knowledge systems.​
Clear-Eyed Equity Workshop, Bonn, Germany
May 15, 2017
In this workshop, I presented my perspective on how equity has been operationalized in global climate governance. I explored an ongoing shift away from a central concern with responsibility toward a focus on capabilities instead, taming the radical edge of demanding equity in the global process. ​