CSP 2012+Climate Science and Policy Beyond 2012
BackgroundScientific knowledge has been critical to the development of climate policy. However, most observers concede that the connections between science and policy in the international negotiation process have not worked as effectively as expected and that this has contributed to the current climate policy gridlock. A broader range of policy alternatives than the choices presently available to decision makers will be required for future negotiations. Decisions made in the next several years about climate science, policy, and the connections between the two will set the stage for policy alternatives available to decision makers in the period beyond 2012. The consequences of climate change are most immediately felt at the national level. So is international policy for its realization. This project addresses conditions for international climate policy and challenges for local and domestic implementation of climate policy and an analysis of global climate policy by involving both developing and industrialized countries.Mindful of the need to preserve coherence while accessing diverse standpoints we have chosen four different national contexts for case studies: Sweden, China, the US and Brazil.
Objective
The overall objective of CSP 2012+ is to:
Provide analyses of policy alternatives to support international climate change decision making after 2012.
In CSP 2012+ we investigate the relationship between scientific knowledge and policy in climate change with specific emphasis on the negotiation of international climate change agreements. Research in CSP 2012+ prioritizes issues of vulnerability and adaptation. The project will focus on a number of critical aspects of assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity in relation to climate change.
Based on these analyses we will provide an overview of the challenges and potentials for climate policy post 2012. We will then identify potential strategies that could move the negotiations forward and propose to policy and decision makers what types of knowledge are required to assist in achieving this end.
