The Controllability Precautionary Principle: Justification of a Climate Policy Goal Under Uncertainty

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugen Pissarskoi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Goal ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Climate Change Policies

How can we reasonably justify a climate policy goal if we accept that only possible consequences from climate change are known? Precautionary principles seem to offer promising guidelines for reasoning in such epistemic situations. This chapter presents two versions of the precautionary principle (PP) and defends one of them as morally justifiable. However, it argues that current versions of the PP do not allow discrimination between relevant climate change policies. Therefore, the chapter develops a further version of the PP, the Controllability Precautionary Principle (CPP), and defends its moral plausibility. The CPP incorporates the following idea: in a situation when the possible outcomes of the available actions cannot be ranked with regard to their value, the choice between available options for action should rest on the comparison of how well decision makers can control the processes of the implementation of the available strategies.

Catastrophic Climate Change, Precaution, and the Risk/Risk Dilemma

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floor M Fleurke
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Targeted Intervention ◽  
Regulatory Response ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Face

Whilst the seriousness of a given problem may call for immediate and targeted intervention, the ensuing uncertain impacts on other elements of inter-connected systems may be equally deleterious. Climate change is a prime example of such a risk/risk dilemma. The risk of inaction must be weighed against the risk of resorting to increasingly tempting responses to mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change. The precautionary principle might offer some guidance in this risk/risk arena. Precaution is a tool to deal with uncertain risks without dictating outcomes. Although it is commonly associated with a negative regulatory tilt, it can also serve to warrant and mandate the use of, for example, a new technology or substance in order to reduce risks. This chapter explores the dilemma of risk/risk trade-offs in the face of potentially catastrophic climate change, and examines the contours of a precautionary regulatory response to such impasses.

Uncertainty, imprecision, and the precautionary principle in climate change assessment

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.E. Borsuk ◽  
L. Tomassini
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Theory ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Upper And Lower Bounds ◽  
Statistical Decision Theory ◽  
Probability Measures ◽  
Statistical Decision ◽  
Expected Cost ◽  
The Precautionary Principle

Statistical decision theory can provide useful support for climate change decisions made under conditions of uncertainty. However, the probability distributions used to calculate expected costs in decision theory are themselves subject to uncertainty, disagreement, or ambiguity in their specification. This imprecision can be described using sets of probability measures, from which upper and lower bounds on expectations can be calculated. However, many representations, or classes, of probability measures are possible. We describe six of the more useful classes and demonstrate how each may be used to represent climate change uncertainties. When expected costs are specified by bounds, rather than precise values, the conventional decision criterion of minimum expected cost is insufficient to reach a unique decision. Alternative criteria are required, and the criterion of minimum upper expected cost may be desirable because it is consistent with the precautionary principle. Using simple climate and economics models as an example, we determine the carbon dioxide emissions levels that have minimum upper expected cost for each of the selected classes. There can be wide differences in these emissions levels and their associated costs, emphasizing the need for care when selecting an appropriate class.

scholarly journals APPLYING PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-34
Author(s):  
Emmy Latifah ◽  
Moch Najib Imanullah
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sustainable Fisheries ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Scientific Certainty

The aim of this paper is to examine an applying the precautionary principle in fisheries management. Precautionary principle is a principle where the possibility exist of serious or irreversible harm, lack of scientific certainty should not preclude cautions action by decision-makers to prevent or mitigate such harm. This principle has been accepting in widely international environmental law so that with applying this principle in fisheries management, it could be expected to provide an opportunity to progress towards sustainable fisheries development.

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