scholarly journals Engineering the Climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Science Studies ◽  
Climate Engineering ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
Dynamic Trajectory

Notions of the impending climate crisis have pushed a set of highly contested techno-scientific measures onto policy agendas around the world. Suggestions to deliberately alter, to engineer, the Earth’s climate have gained political currency in recent years not as a positive vision of techno-scientific innovation, but as a daunting measure of last resort. The controversial status of various so-called climate engineering proposals raises a simple, yet pressing question: How has it has come to this? And, more specifically, how did such contested measures earn their place on policy agendas, despite enormous scientific complexities and fierce political contestation? Global societal problems, such as climate change, financial crises, or pandemics have brought the political relevance of scientific expertise to the foreground. This book speaks to scholarship in sociology and science studies, seeking to illuminate the essential entanglements between efforts to understand and efforts to govern such problems. By giving climate engineering a life of its own and following its dynamic trajectory as a contested object of expert work, this book sheds light on the reflexive and historically contingent interplay of science and politics as two distinct, yet increasingly interdependent, realms of society.

Deliberative Democracy and Science

2018 ◽  
pp. 639-654
Author(s):  
Alfred Moore
Keyword(s):  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Consensus Conferences ◽  
Scientific Knowledge Production ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Emergence Of Institutions

What might a deliberative politics of science look like? This chapter addresses this question by bringing together science studies and the theories and practices of deliberative democracy. This chapter begins by discussing the importance of considering the role of deliberation within scientific communities and institutions, particularly as it bears on the production of scientific judgments and decisions at the boundary between science and politics. The chapter then discusses the emergence of institutions for communicating scientific knowledge to policy-makers, public officials and citizens, which include not only expert tribunals but also the development of citizen panels, consensus conferences, and other forms of mini-publics. Finally, the chapter considers the role of “uninvited” ’ participation in science, emphasizing the role of social movements and critical civil society in both challenging and informing scientific knowledge production.

scholarly journals The lesson learned from COVID-19 and the climate crisis is not to let experts decide on policies: a response to Robert C. Schmidt

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Elisabeth Toeller ◽  
Sonja Blum ◽  
Michael Boecher ◽  
Kathrin Loer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Scientific Experts ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
Normative Issues ◽  
Climate Crisis

AbstractThis is a response to the commentary by Robert C. Schmidt in this journal, in which the author suggests that for specific problems such as climate change or the current pandemic, decisions on policies should be made by scientific experts rather than by politicians. We argue that such ideas, which were brought up in the late 1960s and reconsidered more recently, do not take sufficient account of the nature of science politics, and their interaction. Furthermore, problem structures and resulting challenges for science and politics are not similar, but essentially different between climate change and the pandemic. Therefore, different solutions to the problems are required. There is a need to improve politics’ reliable recourse to scientific evidence in many cases. Yet, giving scientific experts such a strong position in decision-making ignores that most decisions, even if based on the state of scientific evidence (if there is such an uncontroversial state of evidence), ultimately require genuinely political choices about trade-offs of interests and normative issues that neither can nor should be made by scientists. Therefore, putting Schmidt’s proposal into practice would not solve the existing problems but instead create new problems.

Democracy and the Challenge of Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lindvall
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
The Face ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
Free Flow Of Information ◽  
Climate Crisis

Climate change actions in democracies face perceived challenges such as short-term bias in decision-making, policy capture or inconsistency, weak accountability mechanisms and the permeability of the policy-making process to interests adverse to fighting climate change through the role of money in politics. Apart from its intrinsic value to citizens, democracy also brings critical advantages in formulating effective climate policy, such as representative parliaments which can hold governments to account, widespread civic participation, independent media and a free flow of information, the active engagement by civil society organizations in policymaking and the capacity for institutional learning in the face of complex issues with long-term and global social and political implications. International IDEA’s work on change and democracy aims to support democratic institutions to successfully confront the climate crisis by leveraging their advantages and overcoming the challenges to formulating effective and democratically owned climate policy agendas.

Explaining Arctic peace: a human heritage perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 004711782110367
Author(s):  
Beverly Kay Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Interstate Conflict ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
The Us ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Climate Crisis

The Arctic is on fire. Warmed by the world’s soaring greenhouse gases, its ice cap is melting, and it is heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet, deepening the earth’s climate crisis. As its ice thaws, buried resources, trade routes, and new tourist opportunities are suddenly accessible. The borders of the earth’s two largest nuclear rivals, the US and Russia are less than 3 miles apart in the Arctic region and their hostility is growing. Seeking new trade routes and investment opportunities and rapidly rising above its rank as the earth’s third most powerful country, China, has declared itself a ‘near Arctic state’ and is exercising a voice in Arctic affairs. Russia and Arctic NATO members have expanded their military presence in the far North. Despite potential tensions and rapidly melting ice, there is no effective overarching governing regime in the region that can mitigate the climate crisis or manage conflicts were they to arise. Nonetheless, the Arctic remains free of interstate violence. The explanation for the absence of violent conflict cannot be found in traditional International Relations (IR) Theories. Looking below the radar of IR theory and expanding the Human Heritage approach, I show that the region contains a web of overlapping local, regional, national, and pan-Arctic institutions and agreements, built on both traditional and Western knowledge and often steered by indigenous knowledge holders in Arctic governance. This informal web of governing regimes manages Arctic resources to protect human heritage and guard human security. In doing so, it creates a cooperative environment which guides dispute settlement among Arctic states. It is the power of these networks, their normative commitments, and the knowledge that informs them that help to explain the absence of violent interstate conflict in the region.

scholarly journals Searching for a metaphor of the Anthropocene. Reinterpretation of the Oedipus myth

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 85-102
Author(s):  
Ewa Lech
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
The Earth ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Prompt Action ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
Ecological Catastrophe

Anthropocene – the epoch of man, a slogan that evokes awareness of the impending ecological catastrophe. Man’s attitude to nature has nowadays become a major problem and its solution or not will determine the further existence of the human species. As humanity, we believe to possess inexhaustible scientific and technical might and potential to run the Earth. Yet today an urgent need has arisen to reverse our present activities designed primarily to boost frenetic economic growth. Prompt action is needed to protect the Earth’s climate. Our mentality needs to be changed. However, the looming ecological threat has not yet evoked large enough concern among men, otherwise so highly expert in many fields nor overcome our inertness and denialism. Hence the need for a metaphor that would inspire change of knowledge and values to help counteract the climate crisis more efficiently. I believe that the story and myth of Oedipus as told by Sophocles is a sufficiently well-known and a motivating one and applicable to the Anthropocene. Reinterpreting the myth, I refer to Paul Ricoeur’s expressed need to grasp and understand the essence of the tragic. I follow C. Levi-Strauss’s thinking in his exploration of mankind’s universal principles of thinking and experience in the myth. I share Michel Foucalt's contention regarding the excess of Oedipus’s power and knowledge. I reverse the attention from events in Thebes to these in Kolonos. The path of Oedipus’ life illustrates the transformation he had undergone having gained new knowledge needed to regain power and to overcome the sense of being a victim of his own actions. I also suggest that the taboo of patricide and incest be not perceived as a proscription but as an advice and also a way of degrading and transforming the “Ego” into “Eco”, that is egocentrism into ecocentrism. In Kolonos, the spiritual strength and the extra knowledge gained by Oedipus ensured protection and security to Athenians. The proposed metaphor of the “Anthropocene” could help to revivify the “sense of tragedy” leading consequently to metanoia, a change of people’s minds, new strength and inspiration to act.

scholarly journals Talking with the Scientists: Promoting Scientific Citizenship at School through Participatory and Deliberative Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Cornali
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Impact

Unceasing and pervasive, techno-scientific innovation has changed the social demand for science education over the last few decades. Science education is no longer asked only to train specialists for the technical and scientific professions or for research, but strives to spread science for the citizen. The challenge is to make most people capable of seeing and understanding the impact of science and technology in everyday life, of thinking critically about them and making informed decisions. In recent decades, moreover, the frequent controversies (e.g. on genetic engineering) – as well as the string of alarming events (such as the climate change) where science and politics failed to provide decisive solutions – have stimulated lively interest in public participation in fields traditionally dominated by specialists expertise. This paper, after a brief introduction to the concept of civic scientific literacy and its recent developments, will focus on practices of deliberative democracy that allow citizens to participate directly in decision-making about socio-scientific issues. Starting from an analysis of an initiative conducted in Italian high schools, the paper discusses the contribution that introducing participatory and deliberative practices in a school setting can play in promoting scientific citizenship.

scholarly journals Reforming global carbon markets or re-imagining alternative climate solutions and sustainabilities? An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Lyons ◽  
Peter Westoby ◽  
Adrian Nel
Keyword(s):  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Carbon Market ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Carbon Markets ◽  
Dominant Strategies ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Climate Crisis

Abstract Carbon markets have emerged globally as a central feature in market based strategies to address the climate crisis. Global trade in carbon is based on the premise that it is possible to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise the earth's climate, while at the same time generating new forms of capital accumulation. Amongst carbon market initiatives includes Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) type projects, that connect peasant and subsistence farmers in the south with northern consumers and industries. These projects are expanding on the African continent, giving rise to social, economic and ecological impacts. In this article we chart the responses of social movements to carbon markets. Through a study of selected NGOs active in carbon market campaigns in Uganda, we examine the strategies and tactics of movements in responding to the expanding carbon economy. Our findings demonstrate NGOs' approaches move between, and across, reformist and rebel (or radical) change agendas. Dominant strategies are directed towards reforming carbon markets and associated forestry governance. Meanwhile, a rebel, or radical change agenda – including rejecting the language and ideology of carbon trade, alongside building autonomous local level rights based movements – emerges in the constrained spaces of both privatised green economic governance and a militarised state. Given the constrained opportunities for radical movement organising, and the frequent institutionalization and limited influence of NGOs, increasing understandings of these radical change agendas and their contributions for re-imagining alternative sustainabilities is significant for scholars, activists and practitioners alike. Key words: Carbon markets, REDD, Uganda, alternative sustainabilities

scholarly journals What’s in a Name

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-32
Author(s):  
Lyn Carter
Keyword(s):  
Nature Of Science ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Global Power ◽  
The World ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
Scientific Expertise

This paper argues that the coterminous trends of post-liberalism’s shifting global power relations and right wing populism (RWP) have been apparent in the persistent attacks on the World Health Organisation, controversies over the SARS-CoV-2  name, and other forms of disinformation during the current pandemic. Scientific expertise and technocratic knowledge have been diminished in a cacophony of political blaming and posturing, exposing once again the entangled nature of science and politics. It is critical for science education to consider this perspective given its central role in the production of future science and medical professionals able to navigate highly charged and contested political spaces.

scholarly journals Four agendas for research and policy on emissions mitigation and well-being

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Timmons Roberts ◽  
Julia K. Steinberger ◽  
Thomas Dietz ◽  
William F. Lamb ◽  
Richard York ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
High Carbon ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Emissions Mitigation ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
Research And Policy ◽  
Lower Carbon

Non-technical abstract The climate crisis requires nations to achieve human well-being with low national levels of carbon emissions. Countries vary from one another dramatically in how effectively they convert resources into well-being, and some nations with low levels of emissions have relatively high objective and subjective well-being. We identify urgent research and policy agendas for four groups of countries with either low or high emissions and well-being indicators. Least studied are those with low well-being and high emissions. Understanding social and political barriers to switching from high-carbon to lower-carbon modes of production and consumption, and ways to overcome them, will be fundamental.

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