A six-component model for assessing procedural fairness in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) focusing on procedural justice. I demonstrate how, to what end, and with what effects questions of justice and procedural fairness matter in the IPCC work. Then, with the aim to advance crtical research, policy and practice on this important subject, I draw on scholarship from social psychology and legal procedures along with socio-political literature on the IPCC, to develop a six-component framework for evaluating procedural fairness in the IPCC. These include the following: (1) formal rules about representation and participation; (2) formal rules about governance and management structure; (3) formal rules relating to decision-making processes; (4) formal rules on fair treatment of authors; (5) informal quality of decision-making rules by authorities; and (6) informal quality of the interactional environment. Systematic assessment is required to validate the six-component procedural justice model and to reveal existing strengths of, and areas for improvements for, the IPCC procedure.