Astrolabes for the Anthropocene? Navigating deeply uncertain climate futures with lodestars of legal principle and decision making under deep uncertainty

Abstract

The Anthropocene is characterised by deeply entangled sociotechnical and natural regulatory processes. This article investigates entanglements between law and technology in the form of exploratory computer modelling tools, with various applications in anticipatory governance. After taking some bearings in the modern sociotechnical landscape, the tools and techniques of the Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU) community of practice are presented as promising alternatives to existing methods. Despite their increasing use, DMDU methods appear undertheorised by legal scholars. This article therefore explores how legal principles could be integrated with DMDU in a novel conceptual framework. Extending a common navigational metaphor, it aims to theorise ‘astrolabes for the Anthropocene’ by reinventing widely recognised ‘lodestars’ of principle within existing anticipatory governance frameworks. The article concludes with a discussion of some perils and promises of integrated ‘law-and-DMDU’ and identifies areas for further debate between legal and DMDU scholars.