Martin Kowarsch

Aalborg University · Department of Culture and Learning

Global environmental assessments are widely considered to play a prominent role in environmental governance. However, they are also criticised for a lack of effectiveness in informing policy and decision-making. In response, GEAs have adopted a number of strategies to bolster their effectiveness, including by orienting themselves towards solutions...

This report is the output of the first phase of the citizen deliberation in the research project "Ariadne", which produces policy advice about the German Energy transition for the German government. In the research on the traffic and electricity transition, randomly selected citizens are invited in the knolwedge co-production of policy advice. Base...

Urban street space is increasingly contested. However, it is unclear what a fair street space allocation would look like. We develop a framework of ten ethical principles and three normative perspectives on street space – streets for transport, streets for sustainability, and streets as place – and discuss 14 derived street space allocation mechani...

Abstract Deliberation platforms are an important component of the multi-actor science-policy interface within the realm of environmental governance, increasingly characterized by the engagement of a diversity of actors. Deliberation platforms provide a mechanism through which stakeholders with diverse perspectives can both discuss problems and expl...

Climate policy advice is being undermined by value-laden choices over risky mitigation strategies, warn Dominic Lenzi and colleagues. Climate policy advice is being undermined by value-laden choices over risky mitigation strategies, warn Dominic Lenzi and colleagues.

Global environmental assessments (GEAs) are among the most large-scale, formalized processes for synthesizing knowledge at the science–policy–society interface. The successful engagement of diverse stakeholders in GEAs is often described as a crucial mechanism for increasing their legitimacy, salience and credibility. However, the diversity of pers...

This article provides an introduction to the Special Issue dedicated to "Solution-oriented Global Environmental Assessments: Opportunities and Challenges". In the follow-up to the Paris climate agreement and the adoption and early implementation of the global Sustainable Development Goals involving many synergies and trade-offs, the need to shift t...

Increasing demand for solution-oriented environmental assessments brings significant opportunities and challenges at the science–policy–society interface. Solution-oriented assessments should enable inclusive deliberative learning processes about policy alternatives and their practical consequences.

Global environmental assessment (GEA) processes routinely deal with a wide range of divergent viewpoints. The entanglement of disputed facts and values within these viewpoints raises challenges for their legitimate treatment, particularly in solution-oriented GEAs. We offer a conceptualization of ‘divergent viewpoints’ in GEA processes covering bot...

Many impacts of Global Environmental Assessment (GEA) processes on policy processes, and the mechanisms underlying these impacts, remain underappreciated. In this research, we focus on the 5th Global Environment Outlook and the Working Group III contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Based on t...

Engagement with numerous stakeholder groups is increasingly popular in global environmental assessment (GEA) processes. This paper explores to what extent stakeholder engagement has been successful in a few selected GEAs, focusing on major limitations and downsides of particular methods for stakeholder engagement. This addresses a gap in the litera...

Putting the recently adopted global Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Agreement on international climate policy into action will require careful policy choices. Appropriately informing decision-makers about longer-term, wicked policy issues remains a considerable challenge for the scientific community. Typically, these vital policy issues...

While economic and other social science expertise is indispensable for successful public policy-making regarding global climate change, social scientists face trade-offs between the scientific credibility, policy-relevance, and legitimacy of their policy advice. From a philosophical perspective, this book systematically addresses these trade-offs a...

Can the pragmatic science-policy model cluster that emphasises democratic public participation and deliberation ensure reliable, politically legitimate and useful scientific assessments, despite the implied ethical and social value judgements? Section 6.1 will analyse the weaknesses of some variations of the pragmatic model cluster, including subst...

Deepening the problem analysis of the previous parts, Part III analyses both the Working Group (WG) III contribution to the Assessment Reports (ARs) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (in Chap. 10) and the underlying economics of climate change (in this chapter, 8 and 9). This chapter will introduce: (1) the economics of climat...

There are some fundamental perils for the role of the sciences in policy, which also affect economic assessments. Based on a discussion of these perils, this chapter identifies the key challenge of bridging scientific expertise and public policy. Section 3.1 provides the background for this by describing that in practice, neither scientific knowled...

This chapter aims to analyse the normative-ethical assumptions implied in the structure and scenarios of integrated assessment models (IAMs), as well as the IAM-based studies used in the recent assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This will be done according to the framework developed in Sect. 7. 3 which claims trans...

This chapter concludes the enquiry of this book into a new guideline for integrated economic assessments. The proposals for future integrated economic assessments made in Chap. 11 are briefly evaluated (Sect. 12.4) in light of the assumed direct effects of these proposals regarding the general norms for scientific expertise in policy from Part I (S...

This chapter indicates the need for appropriate integrated economic assessments to support climate policy-making. A normative point of departure for this is John Dewey’s concept of a scientifically well-informed, collective regulation of indirect consequences of human actions – as the essence of “the public” (Sect. 2.1). From this Deweyan philosoph...

The decisionist and technocratic models of scientific expertise in policy are critically evaluated in this chapter regarding their potential to address the major pitfalls of scientific expertise in policy. The mistaken philosophical assumption of a fact/value dichotomy, which is underlying these two traditional science-policy models, is identified...

This chapter identifies some challenges, strengths and weaknesses of Working Group (WG) III contributions to the Assessment Reports (ARs) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The focus is on the Fourth (AR4) and Fifth (AR5) assessment cycle of the IPCC. For this purpose, the evaluation criteria and heuristic tools developed in P...

This chapter evaluates the scientific and epistemic quality of integrated assessment models (IAMs) and related economic studies in light of Deweyan-Putnamian pragmatism. This is mainly done by analysing the treatment of three different types of uncertainty (in a broad sense), explained in Sect. 9.1. Section 9.2 discusses technical and methodologica...

Part IV identifies (in this chapter), and reflects on (in Chap. 12), some elements of a more specific guideline for improving the integrated economic assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is based on the preceding analysis of the challenges faced by these assessments (Parts I–III). A short check list for integrat...

Science-policy models guide the practice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other science-policy institutions. Such science-policy models are primarily about the general competence, responsibility and legitimate role of scientific experts, policymakers and other players at the science-policy interface. The central question...

While economic and other social science expertise is indispensable for successful public policy-making regarding global climate change, social scientists face trade-offs between the scientific credibility, policy-relevance, and legitimacy of their policy advice. From a philosophical perspective, this book systematically addresses these trade-offs a...

The European Commission needs to amend its new Scientific Advice Mechanism. Highly integrated, participatory assessments of policy alternatives are required for multidimensional, value-laden policy issues such as the European Union's climate and energy policies.

How can assessments of environmental policy issues be policy-relevant without being policy-prescriptive? The predominant technocratic and decisionist responses to this question misleadingly assume that value-neutral scientific recommendations for public policy means, or even objectives, are possible. On the other end of the spectrum, the literature...

Model-based ecological-economic studies on water management can be a valuable source of information for policy decisions on water-related issues; however, disputable normative assumptions may be involved. Deliberately or unintentionally, such assumptions can make these studies policy-prescriptive. Using the conceptual design of a spatially explicit...

MCC Report prepared for UNEP’s IGMS consultation on GEO-6, Oct 2014, Berlin

This modelling study demonstrates at what level of global mean temperature rise (ΔTg) regions will be exposed to significant decreases of freshwater availability and changes to terrestrial ecosystems. Projections are based on a new, consistent set of 152 climate scenarios (eight ΔTg trajectories reaching 1.5–5 ° C above pre-industrial levels by 210...

A consistent and comprehensive general concept of justice is developed in this chapter. It can be useful for solving conflicts of claims and interests which are crucial for climate and development policy. Our theory of justice is based on the core of human rights understood as everyone’s equal right to have the inviolable freedom to live a flourish...

While the 2°C target has become an important reference point in the international climate-policy arena, as stated for example in the Copenhagen Accord in 2009, its scientific underpinning and its legitimacy is heavily debated in the scientific community. In this chapter, outstanding experts in the field, representing opposing viewpoints within the...

Given that the 2°C target implies that a certain budget of emissions may be permitted, there is debate over how these emission rights could be allocated among the nations. The national emission reduction commitments and possible allocation rules of an emission budget play a major role in international negotiations. The idea prevails that these allo...

Over the last few years political declarations by the European Union (EC (European Community), Climate change – Council conclusions 8518/96 (Presse 188-G) 25/26. VI.96, 1996), the G8 (Major Economics Forum, Declaration of the leaders of the major economies forum on energy and climate, MEF, 2009. http:// www. g8italia2009. it/ static/ G8_ Allegato/...

ZTWE series Vol. 5. Karlsruhe: KIT Scientific Publishing. Online: http://digbib.ubka.uni-karlsruhe.de/volltexte/1000027069.

See https://www.mcc-berlin.net/fileadmin/user_upload/Proceedings_2nd_edition.pdf

Tieren, Pflanzen, Ökosystemen und weiteren Bestandteilen der Natur wird in der tier- und umweltethischen Diskussion oftmals ein eigener moralischer Status zuerkannt. Menschen haben danach direkte Pflichten gegenüber Tieren und der Natur, und nicht lediglich Pflichten gegenüber anderen Menschen. Zumindest bezogen auf Tiere ist diese Auffassung auch...

A report by the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact Research and the Institute for Social and Development Studies (Munich) mandated by Misereor and the Munich Re Foundation

A report by the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact Research and the Institute for Social and Development Studies (Munich) mandated by Misereor and the Munich Re Foundation

A report by the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact Research and the Institute for Social and Development Studies (Munich) mandated by Misereor and the Munich Re Foundation

A report by the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact Research and the Institute for Social and Development Studies (Munich) mandated by Misereor and the Munich Re Foundation

Climate change and global poverty are interrelated problems. The paper aims to overview an integrated approach to this issue and the conflicts involved. Ethically, this calls for criteria of justice. These can be justice of opportunities, justice of basic needs and procedural justice. The plausible moral principle of reciprocal recognition as human...

In the light of 1) the possibly high future impact of climate policies on millions of lives; and 2) the complexity and high uncertainties of climate change and response options, the international community could considerably benefit from the sciences 1 better understanding the options and consequences of long-term policy choices. Such use of scient...