Translating Science into Law: Risk and Uncertainty in Science-Policy Interfaces

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The urgency to act on environmental degradation andglobal warming has been stressed time and again byscientists. In the field of international environmental law,science-policy interfaces (SPIs) represent the keystone ofany Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) as theyare the fora where science is translated into law. Thus, SPIsare important bodies within international environmentallaw that provide key insight on how legal obligations areshaped out of scientific knowledge. My research looks athow different inputs from natural sciences and theirspecific risk and uncertainty discourse are redefined intolegal terminology and whether the weight given to them isthe same. My doctoral research answers the question 'howis scientific knowledge translated into legal obligations inscience-policy interfaces?' To answer this, my researchtakes a socio-legal approach, examining environmental lawthrough its interaction with social and natural sciences.Empirical research, namely case studies and semistructured interviews with SPI members, will come supportthese findings. This material will show how the discourse ofrisk and uncertainty is integrated - qualified and quantified- in scientific reports, findings, policy documents andrecommendations within SPIs. This research thus aims tounderstand the process of decision-making in SPIs and tobridge the gap often overlooked between science and law.