Colliding Worlds: The Objective Nature of Climate Science and the (Somewhat) Subjective Nature of Climate Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to outline and discuss some of the difficulties in translating objective climate science into effective public policy. It is argued here that a fundamental difference of focus exists between climate science and climate policy. Climate science focuses primarily on an objective risk orientation when researching and considering the effects of climate change. Under such a framework, all major variables are either known or accounted for. In contrast, climate policy development works more from a standpoint of a subjective risk orientation in which the defining characteristic is uncertainty. Many of the problems we face today come from either highlighting the uncertainty that exists in translating climate science into human action, or alternatively, in demanding that climate policy develop from a level of objective certainty. Deciphering the different approaches between climate science and climate policy is necessary to harmonize the important work of both disciplines.