Corridors of Clarity: Four Principles to Overcome Uncertainty Paralysis in the Anthropocene

Overview

Journal Bioscience

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialties Biology
Reproductive Medicine

Date 2020 Dec 30

PMID 33376456

Citations 3

Authors

Stephen Polasky

Anne-Sophie Crepin

Reinette Oonsie Biggs

Stephen R Carpenter

Carl Folke

Garry Peterson

Marten Scheffer

Scott Barrett

Gretchen Daily

Paul Ehrlich

Richard B Howarth

Terry Hughes

Simon A Levin

Jason F Shogren

Max Troell

Brian Walker

Anastasios Xepapadeas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Global environmental change challenges humanity because of its broad scale, long-lasting, and potentially irreversible consequences. Key to an effective response is to use an appropriate scientific lens to peer through the mist of uncertainty that threatens timely and appropriate decisions surrounding these complex issues. Identifying such corridors of clarity could help understanding critical phenomena or causal pathways sufficiently well to justify taking policy action. To this end, we suggest four principles: Follow the strongest and most direct path between policy decisions on outcomes, focus on finding sufficient evidence for policy purpose, prioritize no-regrets policies by avoiding options with controversial, uncertain, or immeasurable benefits, aim for getting the big picture roughly right rather than focusing on details.

Citing Articles

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Diversity regained: Precautionary approaches to COVID-19 as a phenomenon of the total environment.

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