Science, Politics and Transnational Regulation: Regulatory Scientific Institutions and the Dilemmas of Hybrid Authority

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Ayal ◽  
Ronen Hareuveny ◽  
Oren Perez
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Optimal Design ◽  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
Radiation Protection ◽  
Hybrid Structure ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
International Competition ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Scientific Institutions

AbstractThe main objective of this article is to develop a better understanding of the structure of transnational regulatory scientific institutions (RSIs). We will argue that the hybrid political-legal-epistemic nature of RSIs creates a continual tension between their hierarchical and policy-driven structure and the paradigms of objectivity, parallelism and non-centralism that characterize science. The article examines the way in which RSIs cope with the challenge of maintaining their epistemic/political authority against the tensions generated by their hybrid structure. The article focuses on three institutions: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), and the International Competition Network (ICN), and examines how this challenge manifests itself in the context of these three bodies. The article links the discussion of hybrid authority with the problem of scientific uncertainty. It concludes with a discussion of the optimal design of RSIs.

Climate change and global risk

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Frame ◽  
Myles R. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Global Risk ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Discussion ◽  
Global Mean Temperature ◽  
History Of

Climate change is among the most talked about and investigated global risks. No other environmental issue receives quite as much attention in the popular press, even though the impacts of pandemics and asteroid strikes, for instance, may be much more severe. Since the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 1990, significant progress has been made in terms of (1) establishing the reality of anthropogenic climate change and (2) understanding enough about the scale of the problem to establish that it warrants a public policy response. However, considerable scientific uncertainty remains. In particular scientists have been unable to narrow the range of the uncertainty in the global mean temperature response to a doubling of carbon dioxide from pre-industrial levels, although we do have a better understanding of why this is the case. Advances in science have, in some ways, made us more uncertain, or at least aware of the uncertainties generated by previously unexamined processes. To a considerable extent these new processes, as well as familiar processes that will be stressed in new ways by the speed of twentyfirst century climate change, underpin recent heightened concerns about the possibility of catastrophic climate change. Discussion of ‘tipping points’ in the Earth system (for instance Kemp, 2005; Lenton, 2007) has raised awareness of the possibility that climate change might be considerably worse than we have previously thought, and that some of the worst impacts might be triggered well before they come to pass, essentially suggesting the alarming image of the current generation having lit the very long, slow-burning fuse on a climate bomb that will cause great devastation to future generations. Possible mechanisms through which such catastrophes could play out have been developed by scientists in the last 15 years, as a natural output of increased scientific interest in Earth system science and, in particular, further investigation of the deep history of climate. Although scientific discussion of such possibilities has usually been characteristically guarded and responsible, the same probably cannot be said for the public debate around such notions.

The Role of Science in Climate Change Lawmaking

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scientific Organization ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Climate ◽  
International Climate Change

This chapter examines how international legal institutions foster cooperation in the presence of scientific uncertainty, especially in the area of international climate change law. It analyses the theory of epistemic institutions and applies it to the primary international scientific organization working on climate change issues, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s assessment reports play a major role in setting the terms of the public debate about climate change negotiations that takes place within the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Although independent of the UNFCCC, the IPCC’s work product is thus a key input into the UNFCCC’s efforts to negotiate international climate change rules. However, the IPCC’s credibility has been called into question due to a relative lack of participation by scientists from developing countries in the assessment process.

scholarly journals The Australasian Radiation Protection Society's Position Statement on Risks from Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation

Dose-Response ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. dose-response.0 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Higson
Keyword(s):  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
Radiation Protection ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Dose Effect ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Linear Extrapolation ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Regulatory Controls ◽  
Dose Levels

Controversy continues on whether or not ionizing radiation is harmful at low doses, with unresolved scientific uncertainty about effects below a few tens of millisieverts. To settle what regulatory controls should apply in this dose region, an assumption has to be made relating dose to the possibility of harm or benefit. The position of the Australasian Radiation Protection Society on this matter is set out in a statement adopted by the Society in 2005. Its salient features are: There is insufficient evidence to establish a dose-effect relationship for doses that are less than a few tens of millisieverts in a year. A linear extrapolation from higher dose levels should be assumed only for the purpose of applying regulatory controls. Estimates of collective dose arising from individual doses that are less than some tens of millisieverts in a year should not be used to predict numbers of fatal cancers. The risk to an individual of doses significantly less than 100 microsieverts in a year is so small, if it exists at all, that regulatory requirements to control exposure at this level are not warranted.

Review of operational indications on the design of facilities for radiopharmaceutical manufacturing in italy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. D’Avanzo ◽  
G.M. Contessa ◽  
G. Cocomello ◽  
M. Mattozzi ◽  
M. Pacilio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Safety Aspects ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Available Information

Purpose. In this article, the authors propose useful operational indications to approach in the best possible way the issues concerning the design of a facility for manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals, with focus on organizational and safety aspects. Methods. Several documents produced by authoritative bodies, national and international scientific institutions and associations were examined and referenced, to the purpose of reviewing all available information in the field. Results. Indications are gathered for the design stage, including the organization of accesses and routes and characteristics and requirements of premises and systems. Conclusions. Main goal is to guide the reader in evaluating and choosing the most suitable features and equipment to limit the risks due to ionizing radiation and to prevent contamination of the workers and the environment.

scholarly journals Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelle Thomas ◽  
Emily Theokritoff ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Diana Reckien ◽  
Kripa Jagannathan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Behavioral Adaptation ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Adaptation Response ◽  
Cultural Constraints ◽  
Global Evidence

AbstractConstraints and limits to adaptation are critical to understanding the extent to which human and natural systems can successfully adapt to climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 1,682 academic studies on human adaptation responses to identify patterns in constraints and limits to adaptation for different regions, sectors, hazards, adaptation response types, and actors. Using definitions of constraints and limits provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we find that most literature identifies constraints to adaptation but that there is limited literature focused on limits to adaptation. Central and South America and Small Islands generally report greater constraints and both hard and soft limits to adaptation. Technological, infrastructural, and ecosystem-based adaptation suggest more evidence of constraints and hard limits than other types of responses. Individuals and households face economic and socio-cultural constraints which also inhibit behavioral adaptation responses and may lead to limits. Finance, governance, institutional, and policy constraints are most prevalent globally. These findings provide early signposts for boundaries of human adaptation and are of high relevance for guiding proactive adaptation financing and governance from local to global scales.

Collective Risk and Distributional Equity in Climate Change Bargaining

2021 ◽  
pp. 002200272110273
Author(s):  
Aseem Mahajan ◽  
Reuben Kline ◽  
Dustin Tingley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Bargaining Model ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
Collective Risk ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Alternating Offers ◽  
International Climate Negotiations

International climate negotiations occur against the backdrop of increasing collective risk: the likelihood of catastrophic economic loss due to climate change will continue to increase unless and until global mitigation efforts are sufficient to prevent it. We introduce a novel alternating-offers bargaining model that incorporates this characteristic feature of climate change. We test the model using an incentivized experiment. We manipulate two important distributional equity principles: capacity to pay for mitigation of climate change and vulnerability to its potentially catastrophic effects. Our results show that less vulnerable parties do not exploit the greater vulnerability of their bargaining partners. They are, rather, more generous. Conversely, parties with greater capacity are less generous in their offers. Both collective risk itself and its importance in light of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report make it all the more urgent to better understand this crucial strategic feature of climate change bargaining.

scholarly journals Welcome to Hydrogen—A New International and Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal of Growing Interest in Our Society

Hydrogen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
George E. Marnellos ◽  
Thomas Klassen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Ipcc Report

The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [...]

scholarly journals Application of a 1 km2 resolution model for climate change effects upon Benin and Nigeria vegetable agriculture

GEOMATICA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Colin Minielly ◽  
O. Clement Adebooye ◽  
P.B. Irenikatche Akponikpe ◽  
Durodoluwa J. Oyedele ◽  
Dirk de Boer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Amaranthus Cruentus ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Climate Change Effects

Climate change and food security are complex global issues that require multidisciplinary approaches to resolve. A nexus exists between both issues, especially in developing countries, but little prior research has successfully bridged the divide. Existing resolutions to climate change and food security are expensive and resource demanding. Climate modelling is at the forefront of climate change literature and development planning, whereas agronomy research is leading food security plans. The Benin Republic and Nigeria have grown and developed in recent years but may not have all the tools required to implement and sustain long-term food security in the face of climate change. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and outputs of a new model that bridges climate change and food security. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Regional Assessment (IPCC AR5) were combined with a biodiversity database to develop the model to derive these outputs. The model was used to demonstrate what potential impacts climate change will have on the regional food security by incorporating agronomic data from four local underutilized indigenous vegetables (Amaranthus cruentus L., Solanum macrocarpon L., Telfairia occidentalis Hook f., and Ocimum gratissimum L.). The model shows that, by 2099, there is significant uncertainty within the optimal recommendations that originated from the MicroVeg project. This suggests that MicroVeg will not have long-term success for food security unless additional options (e.g., new field trials, shifts in vegetable grown) are considered, creating the need for need for more dissemination tools.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Communicating the Uncertainty of Climate Change to Policymakers: A Study of IPCC Synthesis Reports

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2466
Author(s):  
Tomas Molina ◽  
Ernest Abadal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level Of Confidence ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tackle Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change have served to alert both the public and policymakers about the scope of the predicted changes and the effects they would have on natural and economic systems. The first IPCC report was published in 1990, since which time a further four have been produced. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers in order to determine the degree of certainty associated with the statements they contain. For each of the reports we analyzed all statements containing expressions indicating the corresponding level of confidence. The aggregated results show a shift over time towards higher certainty levels, implying a “Call to action” (from 32.8% of statements in IPCC2 to 70.2% in IPCC5). With regard to the international agreements drawn up to tackle climate change, the growing level of confidence expressed in the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers reports might have been a relevant factor in the history of decision making.

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