The recent discourse on ethical aspects of solar radiation management (SRM), especially on the possible injection of sulfur-based aerosols into the stratosphere, has resulted in a comprehensive map of pro- and contra-arguments. On the contra-side of this map, we find “hazard”-arguments, “moral-corruption”-arguments and some preliminary ideas on the political economy (PE) of SRM. Generally, PE-arguments are not prominent in fields of applied ethics since they rest on many premises and are close to political debate. In the presentation, a PE-argument will be outlined. This PE-argument wishes to be as transparent and explicit as possible.
The PE-argument interprets SRM as a kind of macro-rebound for a specific variant of industrial capitalism. This variant is based on high energy input, “Fordist” industries, consumerism, market liberalism, fixation on GDP-growth-rates, and a state that finances large military-industrial complexes and “big science”. If representatives of such variant favor “business-as-usual”-trajectories, and if the scientific consensus on man-made climate change becomes undeniable, such representatives may perceive SRM as an attractive option. It will be argued further that there are emerging variants of “green(er)” capitalism in some EU-countries whose representatives meanwhile favor a transition to renewable energies, to improved public infrastructure, to “smart” consumerism, and to lowered impacts on nature.
It is argued further that one should realize that, first, there is an emerging competition between variants of capitalism, and, second, that SRM is not neutral with respect to this competition. This non-neutral-hypothesis is crucial for the PE-argument. It will be substantiated with respect to a) global diffusion of technologies and institutions, b) investment-strategies, and c) patterns of consumption. This implies that cost-benefit-analyses that presume to compare the long-term opportunity costs of mitigation, adaptation, and climate-engineering under an efficiency-criterion may blind politicians against the real economic stakes of SRM.
