Decisions and Governance

The Decisions and Governance theme addresses how people make choices under conditions of risk and uncertainty, and how governments can better take that behavior into account when designing policies and programs. The policy focus of the group is natural hazards and climate change, for the latter considering both adaptation to climate risks, and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Across developing countries, such as in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the group’s work has shown how different perceptions of risk, and their causes, can lead well-intentioned policies to fail to protect lives and livelihoods at the time of being implemented. The work has identified ways of communicating hazard information, and indeed assessing vulnerability, which lead to better outcomes at the systems level. In Europe and the Middle East / North Africa (MENA) region, the group has assessed the risks to various actors associated with the scale-up of renewable energy infrastructure, and the impact that these can have on measures of energy security and development, as well as the likelihood of achieving climate protection targets.

Current work contributes to projects funded by the European Commission and the Smart Energy for Europe Platform. Recent publications have appeared in Natural Hazards, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Energy Policy, Climatic Change, and Global Environmental Change, among other journals. Members of the group contribute to policy development through participation on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Risk Governance Project, and invited talks to governments and non-governmental organizations.

The group is currently working on the following projects:

Human-Environment Systems: Energy, Development and Security

A prerequisite for avoiding dangerous climate change is the complete decarbonization of the power systems of developed countries by mid-century, and developing countries must follow soon thereafter. This will almost certainly include heavy reliance on renewable energy sources, and could include complete reliance. More

Creating Policy Tools for Climate Change Adaptation (MEDIATION)

MEDIATION uses case studies to provide European policymakers with   scientific information and technical tools to develop improved climate change adaptation policies More

Climate Change and Natural Disasters (CHANGES)

Global warming is expected to alter natural disaster patterns in Europe, and CHANGES researchers are modeling those anticipated changes to assist emergency preparedness officials and to train young scientists in the risk management skills needed to respond to future disasters. More

Linking Disasters for Risk Reduction (MATRIX)

Natural disasters are typically treated as individual incidents, but scientists are developing methods to link events such as earthquakes and landslides to enable policy makers to take more effective risk reduction measures. More

Accelerating Cuts in Greenhouse Gases (RESPONSES)

RESPONSES is a project to develop strategies that will enable European Union countries to accelerate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and better adapt to environmental, social, and economic disruptions caused by climate change. More

Policy Instruments for Decarbonizing Energy (Climate Governance)

The Climate Governance project compares the potential of alternative policy instruments at national and regional scales to decarbonize the world's energy supply. More

Last edited: 18 March 2013