03 June 2026 10:00 - 16:00 In-Person, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BG
03 June 2026 | 10:00 - 16:00 | In-Person, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BG
A 6-hour workshop designed to be participatory and interdisciplinary, with a good progression from knowledge to application, balancing theoretical foundations with practical applications.
To provide conceptual and operational tools to understand and apply the principles of geoethics in research, professional, and decision-making activities related to geosciences and the society–environment relationship.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Explain the core principles of geoethics and their historical development
- Identify ethical conflicts in resource, risk, and environmental governance contexts
- Apply a structured framework to analyses geoethical dilemmas
- Formulate ethically justified decisions in conditions of uncertainty
It is well suited to university students, PhD candidates, academics, researchers, geoscience professionals, and public decision-makers.
Overall Structure
- Total duration: 6 hours
- Format: 4 modules of contents + audience interaction (exercises, group work, discussions)
Module 1
- Theoretical Foundations of geoethics
- Origins of geoethical thought, principles and values, key definitions. Geoethical domains, characteristics, problems and dilemmas, codes of ethics and conduct.
- Socio-economic implications of geosciences
- Audience interaction
Module 2
- Applied responsibility
- Responsible management of natural resources and sustainability
- Geoethical issues in georisks and disaster risk reduction
- Audience interaction
Module 3
- Societal/global dimension
- Climate change and aspects of climate and intergenerational justice.
- Ethical and societal relevance of geoheritage, geodiversity, and geoconservation.
- Audience interaction
Module 4
- Future challenges
- New challenges for Geoethics: AI, geoengineering, deep sea mining
- Responsibility of geoscientists in a changing age
- Audience interaction
Silvia Peppoloni
PhD Geologist, Researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy). Her scientific activity focuses on geological risks and hazards and the issues at the interface geoscience/society.
She is an international leader of geoethics, fully involved in the base research on ethical, social, and cultural implications of geoscience knowledge, research, and practice, and on key concepts for society such as sustainability, prevention, adaptation and geo-education. She is co-founding member and President of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG); Chair of the Commission on Geoethics of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS); Chair holder of the Chair on Geoethics of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH); Director of the School on Geoethics and Natural Issues.
She serves on advisory boards of several international organizations, including the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Intervention Research Board, and is involved in European projects as a leader and advisor. Author of books and about 150 scientific articles, she is Editor-in-Chief of the SpringerBrief in Geoethics and the Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences.
Giuseppe Di Capua
Geologist, Senior Technologist at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy). With over 20 years of experience in research on seismic hazard, he is fully involved in studies on theoretical and practical aspects of geoethics.
He is co-founding member, Secretary General, and Treasurer of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG), Treasurer and Secretary of the Commission on Geoethics of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), member of the Executive Committee of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), and member of the Board of Scholars of the CIPSH Chair on Geoethics.
He was involved in several European projects as team leader (Erasmus+ Goal), task member (ENVRIplus, EPOS SP) and member of advisory boards (INTERMIN, Smart Exploration, CIRAN). Member of the editorial boards of Episodes, Geoconservation Research, Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences, and SpringerBriefs in Geoethics, he is co-author of the IAPG "Cape Town Statement on Geoethics" and “White Paper on Responsible Mining”.