Mikael Hildén

Geoengineering, news media and metaphors: Framing the controversial

We analyze how metaphors are used in presenting and debating novel technologies that could influence the climate and thereby also future climate change policies. We show that metaphors strengthen a policy-related storyline, while metaphors are rarer in purely descriptive accounts. The choice of metaphor frames the technologies. War metaphors are used equally in arguments that are for, against and neutral with respect to the further development of geoengineering, but differences arise in the use of metaphors related to controllability, health and mechanisms. Controllability metaphors are often used in justifying further research and development of good governance practices, whereas health metaphors tend to be used against the very idea of geoengineering by portraying technological interventions in the climate as an emblematic case of an unacceptable development. These findings suggest that metaphors are early indications of restrictions in the interpretative flexibility that influences future governance of geoengineering and geoengineering research.

Integrated risk assessment and risk governance as socio-political phenomena: a synthetic view of the challenges.

To call for integration in risk assessment and governance as a self-evident goal is deceptively easy. For more insight, we ask: what level and kind of integration and for what purposes is needed and sufficient? What opportunities and obstacles can be identified for integrative treatment of risks? What causes and impacts are there of developments in risk integration? To answer these questions we investigate the socio-political processes and factors surrounding integrated risk assessment and risk governance through a combination of literature reviews and original research. We emphasize regulatory assessment and governance of risks associated with chemicals in the EU, but we link them with other areas to better grasp options and problems in integration. We relate the problems to political factors and barriers in sector and vertical integration, including deviating interests, and further to conflicting information, concepts and mindsets. Risk assessment and risk governance involve varying notions of risks and knowledge, with tensions between stressor- or impact-oriented, exclusive or inclusive, positivist or relativist, and fixed or reflexive notions and approaches. These tensions influence the trajectories of integration between sectors, actors and regions, constraining the fulfillment of ideals of integrated governance. We conclude that risk assessment and governance can be integrated, harmonized and innovated to a limit only, but this limit is variable and flexible, and provides opportunities especially if attention is paid to the socio-political contexts, value choices and decision structures in each case. Generally, the results underline a reflexive approach whereby the meanings, framings and implications of risk integration are probed in open processes of deliberation and negotiation, as a learning process to transcend the formal and prescriptive modes of regulation and knowledge generation.

Thresholds of sustainability: policy challenges of regime shifts in coastal areas

Abstract With a bang or with a whimper? A number of studies address this key question related to the ways in which ecosystems degrade. Our angle is slightly different. In this essay, we discuss what challenges the possibility of abrupt change poses to environmental policy. As a reference, we use the concept of an ecological threshold which describes how systems can change dramatically from one state to another. Environmental experts have recognized the usefulness of the concept. Both conceptual understanding and empirical evidence from different ecosystems suggest negative and irreversible consequences of trespassing ecological thresholds. However, large gaps remain regarding how to use the concept to prevent negative or enhance positive changes. This observation motivated our review of key features of the threshold concept in order to discuss its use in policy. We draw especially on studies describing European coastal areas. We conclude that, particularly because thresholds cannot be identified and legally defined once and for all, a continuous learning process is critical. We also stress that societies will have to develop diagnostics that support such learning processes.

Emerging policy perspectives on geoengineering: An international comparison

Geoengineering evokes fears and hopes among the general public, media and scientists. Policy-makers thus face the dilemma of how to respond to this deeply controversial issue. In this paper we examine a wide variety of policy documents from different countries, international organizations and NGOs to gain insights into how geoengineering is perceived at the policy level. We use qualitative content analysis in order to determine specific aspects of framing of geoengineering: concerns and hopes to indicate risk perceptions and action proposals to account for directions in policy development. The policy documents contain a large variety of concerns, hopes and action proposals. Technical and risk-related issues dominate the concerns; the hopes express a wish for new solutions to climate change; and the action proposals emphasize the need for more research. Furthermore, there were clear differences between Anglo-American and German documents, indicating that international policy development on geoengineering will be a difficult task.

Evaluation, assessment, and policy innovation: exploring the links in relation to emissions trading

Policy development and implementation should ideally be informed by assessments and evaluations, but research has shown that their use is far from straightforward in politicised environments. Their role in the adoption and evolution of policy innovations, which fundamentally change policy, has not been extensively analysed. Here, I show that the role can be understood using a new framework that bridges the gap between an agency-dominated innovation management perspective and a process-oriented transition perspective. I apply this framework to examine the evolution of an important policy innovation: the EU emissions trading system (ETS). In the political struggle to introduce and maintain the ETS, the role of evaluations and assessments has changed from destabilisation and reframing to consolidation. The analysis underlines the importance of the interaction between Member States, EU institutions, and non-state actors in the often-neglected stabilisation phase of EU-level policy innovations.

Climate policy innovation: developing an evaluation perspective

A key dimension of the debate about policy innovation is the extent to which new policies achieve significant and lasting effects on the problems they purport to address. However, little is known about such effects. We break new ground by investigating how far current evaluation practices in a policy system with relatively ambitious climate policies – the European Union – identify the most effective (carbon-reducing) policies. We find that a small number of policy instruments are projected to deliver the lion’s share of emission reductions. Setting aside the special case of emissions trading, these instruments are not particularly innovative. If significant practical and political obstacles can be addressed, more (detailed) evaluations could enhance the evidence base and also the political prospects for delivering deeper emissions cuts through to 2050. An evaluation perspective could also offer a very different way to consider policy innovation dynamics.

Framing the Controversial Geoengineering in Academic Literature

Geoengineering is an example of a highly political science-driven topic. We explore how researchers frame geoengineering and what implications these frames have for the science-policy interface and the politicization of science. Our analysis revealed three main ways to frame geoengineering in scientific literature. The “Risk-benefit” frame emphasizes calculation and further research, the “Governance” frame emphasizes the need to develop institutions and procedures, and the “Natural balance” frame focuses on the ethical aspects of geoengineering. The researchers’ frames have different political implications, indicating a need to ensure transparency and dialogue at the science-policy nexus.

Unrecognized, concealed, or forgotten -- the case of absent information in risk communication

There are differing and partially incompatible views about what kind of issues should be included into risk discussions and what kinds of risks should be emphasized and dealt with. While the emergence of new risks has been extensively studied, relatively little attention has been paid to the roles that the absence of information can play in risk debates. Potentially relevant information may be downplayed or omitted and less relevant overemphasized when actors with varying interests, knowledge bases, and risk frames interact. Multiple and cumulative environmental and health risks caused by chemicals and other stressors pose particular challenges for risk communication. We identify and discuss different forms of unrecognized, hidden, and forgotten information by using chemical risks as a case. A widely applicable typology of absent information in risk communication is outlined.

Assessment across borders: Stumbling blocks and options in the practical implementation of the Espoo Convention

Abstract In the 1990s, the obligation to assess transboundary environmental impacts has become part of international law. The UN/ECE Convention on environmental impact assessment (EIA) in a transboundary context, which entered into force in 1997, is one of the key documents. In this study, we show that difficulties with the practical implementation of the Convention arise partly from an incomplete sharing of the concept of EIA, and partly from different material interests on the part of the Parties to the Convention. Attempts to improve the practical implementation should recognize both aspects. Several approaches are thus needed for improving the implementation. Some will help in developing a mutual understanding of impact assessments, whereas others may help in overcoming differences in material interests.

Coping with Ecological Thresholds in Coastal Areas: Results from an International Expert Survey

Ecological thresholds have raised considerable interest as a concept that may help to understand and manage environmental challenges in coastal areas. We present results from an international survey on ecological thresholds targeted at coastal and marine experts. The results show that experts are confident that coastal areas are affected by risks and changes related to ecological thresholds. Experts also are concerned that current coastal management structures and practices are not capable of preventing the crossing of the thresholds of harmful changes, especially those related to climate change. The results also show a high level of variability of views and suggest a need for the creation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary platforms and processes of open-minded deliberation needed for the adaptive management of coastal areas.