Noisy and definitely not normal: responding to wicked issues in the environment, energy and health

Turnpenny, John, Lorenzoni, Irene and Jones, Mavis (2009) Noisy and definitely not normal: responding to wicked issues in the environment, energy and health. Environmental Science & Policy, 12 (3). pp. 347-358. ISSN 1873-6416

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Abstract

Attempts by researchers and policy-makers to address the ‘wicked’ issues which pervade environmental policy usually revolve around attempting – or recommending – both more participatory and transparent, and more systematic and evidence-based, policy-making. Post-normal science (PNS), with its ‘extended peer community’, has emerged as one approach, whilst others focus on procedural reforms of the policy process, particularly on enhancing democratic decision-making. This paper applies a novel analytical framework to a primarily documentary analysis of three cases we argue are wicked—Canadian regulatory review of health products and food, European union (EU) environmental thematic strategies, and United Kingdom (UK) energy and climate change policy. It explores how various responses to wicked issues are implemented, through the ‘lenses’ of PNS and, more generally, ‘democratic and effective decision-making’. It finds such responses are often limited by practical and fundamental barriers relating to handling of uncertainty, issue framing, participation, power, politics, and attitude to evidence. We draw conclusions about future research on PNS, particularly the need to more clearly relate theory to different strands of literature on the evidence–policy-making relationship, and to continue empirical testing.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Science, Society and Sustainability
Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics
University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Competition Policy
Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine Knowledge Exchange Network
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Depositing User: Users 2731 not found.
Date Deposited: 26 Sep 2011 11:49
Last Modified: 21 Jul 2023 09:23
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/34874
DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2009.01.004

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