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Brock TCM, Elliott KC, Gladbach A, Moermond C, Romeis J, Seiler T, Solomon K, Peter Dohmen G. Open Science in regulatory environmental risk assessment. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2021; 17:1229-1242. [PMID: 33913617 PMCID: PMC8596791 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
A possible way to alleviate the public skepticism toward regulatory science is to increase transparency by making all data and value judgments used in regulatory decision making accessible for public interpretation, ideally early on in the process, and following the concepts of Open Science. This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges in strengthening Open Science initiatives in regulatory environmental risk assessment (ERA). In this discussion paper, we argue that the benefits associated with Open Science in regulatory ERA far outweigh its perceived risks. All stakeholders involved in regulatory ERA (e.g., governmental regulatory authorities, private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations), as well as professional organizations like the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, can play a key role in supporting the Open Science initiative, by promoting the use of recommended reporting criteria for reliability and relevance of data and tools used in ERA, and by developing a communication strategy for both professionals and nonprofessionals to transparently explain the socioeconomic value judgments and scientific principles underlying regulatory ERA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1229-1242. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kevin C. Elliott
- Department of Fisheries and WildlifeLyman Briggs College Department of PhilosophyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
- Department of PhilosophyLyman Briggs CollegeMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | | | - Caroline Moermond
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)UtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Jörg Romeis
- Research Division Agroecology and EnvironmentAgroscopeZurichSwitzerland
| | - Thomas‐Benjamin Seiler
- Hygiene‐Institut des RuhrgebietsGelsenkirchenGermany
- Institute for Environmental ResearchRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
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Wang Z, Altenburger R, Backhaus T, Covaci A, Diamond ML, Grimalt JO, Lohmann R, Schäffer A, Scheringer M, Selin H, Soehl A, Suzuki N. We need a global science-policy body on chemicals and waste. Science 2021; 371:774-776. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abe9090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhanyun Wang
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rolf Altenburger
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen, Germany
| | - Thomas Backhaus
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Carl Skottsbergs Gata 22B, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Adrian Covaci
- Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Miriam L. Diamond
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joan O. Grimalt
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, 08034, Spain
| | - Rainer Lohmann
- Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, USA
| | - Andreas Schäffer
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen, Germany
| | - Martin Scheringer
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- RECETOX, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Henrik Selin
- Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anna Soehl
- International Panel on Chemical Pollution, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Noriyuki Suzuki
- Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
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Karlsson M, Gilek M. Mind the gap: Coping with delay in environmental governance. AMBIO 2020; 49:1067-1075. [PMID: 31571044 PMCID: PMC7067715 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01265-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Gaps between public policy goals and the state of the environment are often significant. However, while goal failures in environmental governance are studied in a number of disciplines, the knowledge on the various causes behind delayed goal achievement is still incomplete. In this article we propose a new framework for analysis of delay mechanisms in science and policy, with the intention to provide a complementary lens for describing, analysing and counteracting delay in environmental governance. The framework is based on case-study findings from recent research focusing on goal-failures in policies for climate change, hazardous chemicals, biodiversity loss and eutrophication. It is also related to previous research on science and policy processes and their interactions. We exemplify the framework with two delay mechanisms that we consider particularly important to highlight-denial of science and decision thresholds. We call for further research in the field, for development of the framework, and not least for increased attention to delay mechanisms in environmental policy review and development on national as well as international levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Karlsson
- Division of Philosophy, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Michael Gilek
- School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies, Södertörn University, Alfred Nobels Allé 7, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
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