Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks Designing Processes for the Effective Use of Science in Decisionmaking

About this book

As environmental challenges grow larger in scale and implications, it is increasingly important to apply the best scientific knowledge in the decisionmaking process. Editors Farrell and Jager present environmental assessments as the bridge between the expert knowledge of scientists and engineers on the one hand and decisionmakers on the other. When done well, assessments have a positive impact on public policy, the strategic decisions of private firms, and, ultimately, the quality of life for many people. This book is the result of an international, interdisciplinary research project to analyze past environmental assessments and understand how their design influenced their effectiveness in bringing scientific evidence and insight into the decisionmaking process. The case studies in the book feature a wide range of regional and global risks, including ozone depletion, transboundary air pollution, and climate change. Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks offers several important contributions. It provides a clear account of the choices faced in the design of environmental assessments and a clear description of the lessons learned from past assessments. It illustrates why assessments are social processes, not simply reports. And, while they identify no universal, one-size-fits-all design, the authors find that, to be effective, environmental assessments must be viewed by those who produce and use them as being salient; credible in their scientific support; and legitimate, or fair, in design and execution.

Contents

Foreword -- William Clark, Nancy Dickson, Jill Ji? ger, Sheila Jasanoff, and James J. McCarth About the Contributors Overview: Understanding Design Choices -- Alexander E. Farrell, Jill Ji? ger, and Stacy D.VanDeveer European Politics with a Scientific Face: Framing, Asymmetrical Participation, and Capacity in LRTAP -- Stacy D.VanDeveer Dissent and Trust in Multilateral Assessments: Comparing LRTAP and OTAG -- Alexander E. Farrell and Terry J. Keating Applying Assessment Lessons to New Challenges: From Sulfur to POPs -- Noelle Eckley Selin Making Climate Change Impacts Meaningful: Framing, Methods, and Process in Coastal Zone and Agriculture Assessments -- Marybeth Long Martello and Alastair Iles Dealing with Uncertainty: How Do You Assess the Impossible? -- Anthony Patt Limits to Assessment: An Example from Regional Abrupt Climate Change Assessment in the United States -- David C. Lund Can Assessments Learn, and If So, How? A Study of the IPCC -- Bernd Siebenhi? ner The Design and Management of International Scientific Assessments: Lessons from the Climate Regime -- Clark A. Miller Designing Better Environmental Assessments for Developing Countries: Lessons From the U.S. Country Studies Program -- Oladele A. Ogunseitan Grounds for Hope: Assessing Technological Options to Manage Ozone Depletion -- Edward A. Parson Global Hazards and Catastrophic Risk: Assessments in the Reinsurance Industry -- Mojdeh Keykhah Making Sustainability Assessments More Useful for Institutional Investors -- Bernd Kasemir, Andrea Si? ess, and Raphael Schaub Improving the Practice of Environmental Assessment -- Jill Ji? ger and Alexander E. Farrell

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Biography

Alexander E. Farrell is assistant professor in the Energy and Resources Group of the University of California, Berkeley. Jill Ji? ger is an independent scholar in Vienna, Austria.