Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But a... more Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But are they any longer fit for purpose? Some believe not. Compelling arguments have been advanced for a new assessment paradigm, one more focussed on problem-solving than problem-identification. If translated into new assessment practices, this envisaged paradigm could prevail for the next several decades, just as the current one has since the late 1970s. In this paper, it is contended that the arguments for GEAs 2.0 are, in fact, insufficiently bold. Solutions-orientated assessments, often associated with a ‘policy turn’ by their advocates, are undoubtedly necessary. But without a ‘politics turn’ they will be profoundly insufficient: policy options would be detached from the diverse socio-economic explanations and ‘deep hermeneutics’ of value that ultimately give them meaning, especially given the very high stakes now attached to managing human impacts on a fast-changing planet. Here we mak...
In a short period of time, climate ‘geoengineering’ has been added to the list of technoscientifi... more In a short period of time, climate ‘geoengineering’ has been added to the list of technoscientific issues subject to deliberative public engagement. Here, we analyse this rapid trajectory of publicization and explore the particular manner in which the possibility of intentionally altering the Earth’s climate system to curb global warming has been incorporated into the field of ‘public engagement with science’. We describe the initial framing of geoengineering as a singular object of debate and subsequent attempts to ‘unframe’ the issue by placing it within broader discursive fields. The tension implicit in these processes of structured debate – how to turn geoengineering into a workable object of deliberation without implying a commitment to its reality as a policy option – raises significant questions about the role of ‘public engagement with science’ scholars and methods in facilitating public debate on speculative technological futures.
Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But a... more Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But are they any longer fit for purpose? Some believe not. Compelling arguments have been advanced for a new assessment paradigm, one more focussed on problem-solving than problem-identification. If translated into new assessment practices, this envisaged paradigm could prevail for the next several decades, just as the current one has since the late 1970s. In this paper, it is contended that the arguments for GEAs 2.0 are, in fact, insufficiently bold. Solutions-orientated assessments, often associated with a ‘policy turn’ by their advocates, are undoubtedly necessary. But without a ‘politics turn’ they will be profoundly insufficient: policy options would be detached from the diverse socio-economic explanations and ‘deep hermeneutics’ of value that ultimately give them meaning, especially given the very high stakes now attached to managing human impacts on a fast-changing planet. Here we mak...
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-anr-10.1177_2053019620971664 for The future of global environment... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-anr-10.1177_2053019620971664 for The future of global environmental assessments: Making a case for fundamental change by Noel Castree, Rob Bellamy and Shannon Osaka in The Anthropocene Review
Proposed ways of governing climate engineering have most often been supported by narrowly framed ... more Proposed ways of governing climate engineering have most often been supported by narrowly framed and unreflexive appraisals and processes. This article explores the governance implications of a Deliberative Mapping project that, unlike other governance principles, have emerged from an extensive process of reflection and reflexivity. In turn, the project has made significant advances in addressing the current deficit of responsibly defined criteria for shaping governance propositions. Three such propositions argue that (1) reflexive foresight of the imagined futures in which climate engineering proposals might reside is required; (2) the performance and acceptance of climate engineering proposals should be decided in terms of robustness, not optimality; and (3) climate engineering proposals should be satisfactorily opened up before they can be considered legitimate objects of governance. Taken together, these propositions offer a sociotechnical framework not simply for governing clim...
Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definiti... more Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definitions. First, those efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to tackle climate change. Second, that as a result of this, we may be faced with a dangerous change in climate, often stylised as crossing one or more "tipping points"–a "climate emergency". The expert multi-criteria assessment conducted for the Royal Society's seminal report provides a valuable illustration of how framing geoengineering assessment through the selection and elevation of particular criteria can compel particular outcomes. These permutations demonstrate how different instrumental framings can serve to "close down" on certain geoengineering proposals. Broadening out and opening up geoengineering assessment reveals the complexities and uncertainties that are often reduced and hidden in narrowly framed assessments. Indeed, a remarkable level of consistency has been found across expert, stakeholder, and public perspectives, with geoengineering proposals being outperformed by mitigation alternatives.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered a key mitigation technology in mo... more Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered a key mitigation technology in most 1.5–2.0°C compatible climate change mitigation scenarios. Nonetheless, examples of BECCS deployment are lacking internationally. It is widely acknowledged that widespread implementation of this technology requires strong policy enablers, and that such enablers are currently non-existent. However, the literature lacks a more structured assessment of the “incentive gap” between scenarios with substantive BECCS deployment and existing policy enablers to effectuate BECCS deployment. Sweden, a country with progressive climate policies and particularly good preconditions for BECCS, constitutes a relevant locus for such examinations. The paper asks to what extent and how existing UN, EU, and Swedish climate policy instruments incentivize BECCS research, development, demonstration, and deployment in Sweden. The analysis is followed by a tentative discussion of needs for policy reform to impro...
Societal issues involving policies and publics are generally understudied in research on ocean-ba... more Societal issues involving policies and publics are generally understudied in research on ocean-based Negative Emission Technologies (NETs), yet will be crucial if novel techniques are ever to function at scale. Public attitudes are vital for emerging technologies: publics influence political mandates, help determine the degree of uptake by market actors, and are key to realizing broader ambitions for robust decision-making and responsible incentivization. Discourses surrounding ocean NETs will also have fundamental effects on how governance for the techniques emerges, shaping how they are defined as an object of governance, who is assigned the authority to govern, and what instruments are deemed appropriate. This Perspective brings together key insights on the societal dimensions of ocean NETs, drawing on existing work on public acceptability, policy assessment, governance, and discourse. Ocean iron fertilization is the only ocean NET on which there exists considerable social scienc...
Framing solutions to climate change as natural strongly influences their acceptability, but what ... more Framing solutions to climate change as natural strongly influences their acceptability, but what constitutes a ‘natural’ climate solution is selected, not self-evident. We suggest that the current, narrow formulation of natural climate solutions risks constraining what are thought of as desirable policy options.
Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But a... more Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But are they any longer fit for purpose? Some believe not. Compelling arguments have been advanced for a new assessment paradigm, one more focussed on problem-solving than problem-identification. If translated into new assessment practices, this envisaged paradigm could prevail for the next several decades, just as the current one has since the late 1970s. In this paper, it is contended that the arguments for GEAs 2.0 are, in fact, insufficiently bold. Solutions-orientated assessments, often associated with a ‘policy turn’ by their advocates, are undoubtedly necessary. But without a ‘politics turn’ they will be profoundly insufficient: policy options would be detached from the diverse socio-economic explanations and ‘deep hermeneutics’ of value that ultimately give them meaning, especially given the very high stakes now attached to managing human impacts on a fast-changing planet. Here we mak...
In a short period of time, climate ‘geoengineering’ has been added to the list of technoscientifi... more In a short period of time, climate ‘geoengineering’ has been added to the list of technoscientific issues subject to deliberative public engagement. Here, we analyse this rapid trajectory of publicization and explore the particular manner in which the possibility of intentionally altering the Earth’s climate system to curb global warming has been incorporated into the field of ‘public engagement with science’. We describe the initial framing of geoengineering as a singular object of debate and subsequent attempts to ‘unframe’ the issue by placing it within broader discursive fields. The tension implicit in these processes of structured debate – how to turn geoengineering into a workable object of deliberation without implying a commitment to its reality as a policy option – raises significant questions about the role of ‘public engagement with science’ scholars and methods in facilitating public debate on speculative technological futures.
Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But a... more Since the late 1970s, over 140 global environmental assessments (GEAs) have been completed. But are they any longer fit for purpose? Some believe not. Compelling arguments have been advanced for a new assessment paradigm, one more focussed on problem-solving than problem-identification. If translated into new assessment practices, this envisaged paradigm could prevail for the next several decades, just as the current one has since the late 1970s. In this paper, it is contended that the arguments for GEAs 2.0 are, in fact, insufficiently bold. Solutions-orientated assessments, often associated with a ‘policy turn’ by their advocates, are undoubtedly necessary. But without a ‘politics turn’ they will be profoundly insufficient: policy options would be detached from the diverse socio-economic explanations and ‘deep hermeneutics’ of value that ultimately give them meaning, especially given the very high stakes now attached to managing human impacts on a fast-changing planet. Here we mak...
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-anr-10.1177_2053019620971664 for The future of global environment... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-anr-10.1177_2053019620971664 for The future of global environmental assessments: Making a case for fundamental change by Noel Castree, Rob Bellamy and Shannon Osaka in The Anthropocene Review
Proposed ways of governing climate engineering have most often been supported by narrowly framed ... more Proposed ways of governing climate engineering have most often been supported by narrowly framed and unreflexive appraisals and processes. This article explores the governance implications of a Deliberative Mapping project that, unlike other governance principles, have emerged from an extensive process of reflection and reflexivity. In turn, the project has made significant advances in addressing the current deficit of responsibly defined criteria for shaping governance propositions. Three such propositions argue that (1) reflexive foresight of the imagined futures in which climate engineering proposals might reside is required; (2) the performance and acceptance of climate engineering proposals should be decided in terms of robustness, not optimality; and (3) climate engineering proposals should be satisfactorily opened up before they can be considered legitimate objects of governance. Taken together, these propositions offer a sociotechnical framework not simply for governing clim...
Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definiti... more Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definitions. First, those efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to tackle climate change. Second, that as a result of this, we may be faced with a dangerous change in climate, often stylised as crossing one or more "tipping points"–a "climate emergency". The expert multi-criteria assessment conducted for the Royal Society's seminal report provides a valuable illustration of how framing geoengineering assessment through the selection and elevation of particular criteria can compel particular outcomes. These permutations demonstrate how different instrumental framings can serve to "close down" on certain geoengineering proposals. Broadening out and opening up geoengineering assessment reveals the complexities and uncertainties that are often reduced and hidden in narrowly framed assessments. Indeed, a remarkable level of consistency has been found across expert, stakeholder, and public perspectives, with geoengineering proposals being outperformed by mitigation alternatives.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered a key mitigation technology in mo... more Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered a key mitigation technology in most 1.5–2.0°C compatible climate change mitigation scenarios. Nonetheless, examples of BECCS deployment are lacking internationally. It is widely acknowledged that widespread implementation of this technology requires strong policy enablers, and that such enablers are currently non-existent. However, the literature lacks a more structured assessment of the “incentive gap” between scenarios with substantive BECCS deployment and existing policy enablers to effectuate BECCS deployment. Sweden, a country with progressive climate policies and particularly good preconditions for BECCS, constitutes a relevant locus for such examinations. The paper asks to what extent and how existing UN, EU, and Swedish climate policy instruments incentivize BECCS research, development, demonstration, and deployment in Sweden. The analysis is followed by a tentative discussion of needs for policy reform to impro...
Societal issues involving policies and publics are generally understudied in research on ocean-ba... more Societal issues involving policies and publics are generally understudied in research on ocean-based Negative Emission Technologies (NETs), yet will be crucial if novel techniques are ever to function at scale. Public attitudes are vital for emerging technologies: publics influence political mandates, help determine the degree of uptake by market actors, and are key to realizing broader ambitions for robust decision-making and responsible incentivization. Discourses surrounding ocean NETs will also have fundamental effects on how governance for the techniques emerges, shaping how they are defined as an object of governance, who is assigned the authority to govern, and what instruments are deemed appropriate. This Perspective brings together key insights on the societal dimensions of ocean NETs, drawing on existing work on public acceptability, policy assessment, governance, and discourse. Ocean iron fertilization is the only ocean NET on which there exists considerable social scienc...
Framing solutions to climate change as natural strongly influences their acceptability, but what ... more Framing solutions to climate change as natural strongly influences their acceptability, but what constitutes a ‘natural’ climate solution is selected, not self-evident. We suggest that the current, narrow formulation of natural climate solutions risks constraining what are thought of as desirable policy options.
Geoengineering our Climate? Ethics, Politics, and Governance, 2018
Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definiti... more Assessments of geoengineering have so far largely taken place under two dominant problem definitions. First, those efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to tackle climate change. Second, that as a result of this, we may be faced with a dangerous change in climate, often stylised as crossing one or more "tipping points"–a "climate emergency". The expert multi-criteria assessment conducted for the Royal Society's seminal report provides a valuable illustration of how framing geoengineering assessment through the selection and elevation of particular criteria can compel particular outcomes. These permutations demonstrate how different instrumental framings can serve to "close down" on certain geoengineering proposals. Broadening out and opening up geoengineering assessment reveals the complexities and uncertainties that are often reduced and hidden in narrowly framed assessments. Indeed, a remarkable level of consistency has been found across expert, stakeholder, and public perspectives, with geoengineering proposals being outperformed by mitigation alternatives.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage From global potentials to domestic realities, 2018
Chapter 6 (“Multilevel Policy Incentives for BECCS in Sweden”) builds on the high potential for B... more Chapter 6 (“Multilevel Policy Incentives for BECCS in Sweden”) builds on the high potential for BECCS in Sweden identified in chapter 4, summarizing the current policy incentives for BECCS research, development, demonstration, and diffusion (RDD&D). It examines the given policy drivers and obstacles at multiple scales (e.g., international, supranational, and national) and in terms of various forms of instruments (e.g., economic, regulatory, and informational). The chapter concludes that current policy instruments mostly fail to incentivize BECCS RDD&D in Sweden. The instruments partly favor R&D yet fail to provide incentives covering operational costs. Under current circumstances, BECCS is unlikely to reach demonstration scale in Sweden.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage From global potentials to domestic realities, 2018
Chapter 5 (“Governing BECCS: “Slippery Slope” or “Uphill Struggle”?”) highlights how BECCS and ot... more Chapter 5 (“Governing BECCS: “Slippery Slope” or “Uphill Struggle”?”) highlights how BECCS and other large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climate system, proposed to moderate anthropogenic global warming, are commonly portrayed as threatening to initiate a “slippery slope” from research to deployment. The argument suggests that governance should constrain or even proscribe research into BECCS on the grounds that allowing it to proceed unchecked could lead to a chain of events resulting in deployment and the undesirable consequences that this might bring. This chapter begins by critically examining the slippery slope argument as articulated in relation to BECCS. It then draws on the empirical findings of an expert scenario method designed to explore how far BECCS might develop in the future and under what governance arrangements. Rather than a slippery slope, the scenarios instead illustrate what might best be described as an “uphill struggle,” in which BECCS innovators confront manifold technical, political, and societal challenges to deployment. The chapter concludes by seeking to reframe the governance task as one of responsible incentivization, rather than one of constraint or proscription.
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