From science to policy: developing responses to …

1 IntroductionClimate change poses risks to human health, ecosystems, social and culturalsystems, and economic development. It also provides opportunities. The goals of climate policy should be to reduce the risks and take advantage of the to the potential effects of climate change is a complex and ongoingprocess requiring actions by individuals, communities, governments and inter-national agencies. In order to make informed decisions, policymakers will need timely and useful information about the possible consequences of climatechange, people s perceptions of whether the consequences are positive or nega-tive,4available adaptation options, and the benefits of slowing the rate of climatechange.

2 The challenge for the assessment community is to provide this infor-mation. Assessments must be made of the potential consequences of climatechange, as well as of opportunities to adapt in order to reduce the risks, or takeadvantage of the opportunities, presented by policy-focused assessment5is an ongoing process designed to provide timelyand useful information to decision-makers (1). Assessment products that addressdecision-makers specific questions must be produced so that they coincide with decision points. Decisions will be made, including decisions to do nothing,whether or not the science is complete and the scientific community is preparedto provide input (2). Decisions made today might influence future opportunitiesto mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to a changing policymakers have received information from the assessment com-munity, their challenge is to integrate this information (where appropriate) to237 CHAPTER 12 From science to policy: developingresponses to climate Scheraga,1, Ebi,3J.

3 Furlow,1, Moreno41 Global change Research Program, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Researchand Development, Washington, DC, views repressed are the author s own and do not reflect official USEPA Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, European Centre for Environmentand Health, Rome, United States-Mexico Foundation for science , Mexico , impacts from one person s perspective may be negative from another and Furlow note that the term policy-relevant is more commonly used. Policy-relevant is defined as an iterative process that engages both analysts and end-users to eval-uate and interpret the interactions of dynamic physical, biological, and social systems andcommunicate useful insights in a timely fashion.

4 They choose to refer to this type of assess-ment as policy-focused because many types of research and assessment activities may, atsome time, be relevant for policy, but are not focused on answering specific questions beingasked by policy makers by a specific point in time. Policy-focused assessments are intendedto inform in a timely fashion decision-makers asking specific questions. The terminology isintended to distinguish between these different types of assessment a policy portfolio consisting of a sensible mix of approaches for reduc-ing the risks and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by climatechange. An array of response options exists, including actions to mitigate green-house gas emissions in order to slow the rate of climate change ; actions to adaptto a changing climate in order to increase society s resilience to change ; com-munication strategies to increase public awareness of climate change ; invest-ments in monitoring and surveillance systems; and investments in research toreduce key policy-relevant uncertainties and increase understanding of thepotential effects of climate challenge for decision-makers is complicated by the fact that climatechange is only one of many factors that influence human health, ecosystems andsocial well-being.

5 climate change cannot be considered in isolation from otherimportant stresses. Earth s ecological, socioeconomic and climate systems areclosely linked (3). Human health is affected by a variety of social, political, eco-nomic, environmental, technological and demographic factors, including: urbanization level of economic development and availability of wealth ( funds avail-able for research, sanitation, surveillance and monitoring) technological innovation (can pose its own environmental and health risks) scientific breakthroughs individual behaviour environmental conditions ( air or water quality).Any public health programme should consider these factors holistically to iden-tify the important stressors and the most effective remedial mechanisms.

6 Theresources available to the public health community need to be shared among avariety of public health problems (and other problems of concern to society),therefore the ideal situation is to direct resources to their highest valued uses forthe greatest public good. Often it is said that public health resources are scarce,in the sense that a resource is scarce if it is desired but limited. Highest valued is a value-laden concept and therefore a social choice, not ascientific decision. It may include equity considerations ( a decision that leadsto differential health impacts among different demographic groups), efficiencyconsiderations ( targeting those programmes that will save the greatestnumber of lives) and political feasibility.

7 It may also include ethics considera-tions, which are particularly important in public health. The practice of publichealth is guided by four ethical principles (4): respect for autonomy, nonmalefi-cence, justice and beneficence. Beneficence, the principle of doing good, is thedominant ethical principle of public health but may not be the dominant valuefor decision-makers faced with competing demands. Respect for autonomymeans concern about human dignity and freedom, and the rights of individualsto make choices and decisions for themselves, rather than others deciding forthem. Nonmaleficence is the principle of not harming, derived from the ancientmedical maxim: first, do no harm.

8 Justice in this sense means social justice fairness, equity and health frequently is faced with situations where it is not possible touphold each of these principles. For example, a decision to quarantine a groupof individuals to prevent the spread of a communicable disease emphasizes benefi-cence over the respect for autonomy and justice. Public health places the needto protect society as a higher imperative than the rights of an individual. Publichealth practitioners believe that as long as the community perspective (driven238 climate change AND HUMAN HEALTHby shared customs, institutions and values) and the perspective of a commongood (including the desire to reduce disease, save lives and promote good health)remain intact, actions can be taken that limit individual autonomy and , there isn t always consensus even among public health officials on the best way to promote the public s health and how to weigh individual lib-erties against the welfare of the outside the public health community are faced with similarchallenges.

9 climate change affects multiple sectors and resources including (butnot limited to) agriculture, forestry, water resources, air quality, ecosystems andbiodiversity, and cultural resources. Stakeholders with an interest in each of thesemay have conflicting desires and conflict resolution is likely to be dealing with multiple social objectives ( elimination of poverty,support for agriculture, promotion of economic growth, protection of culturalresources) and competing stakeholder desires must make difficult choices as theyallocate scarce human and financial resources. For this reason, the Intergovern-mental Panel on climate change (IPCC) suggested that it is helpful to viewclimate change as part of the larger challenge of sustainable development (5).

10 climate policies, including those intended to protect public health, can be moreeffective when consistently embedded within broader strategies designed to makenational and regional development paths more sustainable. The impact of climatevariability and change , climate policy responses , and associated socioeconomicdevelopment will affect the ability of communities to achieve sustainable devel-opment goals. Conversely, the pursuit of sustainable development goals willaffect the opportunities for, and success of, climate chapter addresses the health impacts assessment community s challengeto provide timely and useful information to decision-makers. We discuss thenotion of policy-focused assessment and demonstrate how it can be a bridgebetween the research community and decision-makers.