van der Sluijs, Jeroen; Turkenburg, Wim --- "Climate Change and the Precautionary Principle" [2006] ELECD 395; in Fisher, Elizabeth; Jones, Judith; von Schomberg, René (eds), "Implementing the Precautionary Principle" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Implementing the Precautionary Principle

Editor(s): Fisher, Elizabeth; Jones, Judith; von Schomberg, René

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845427023

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Climate Change and the Precautionary Principle

Author(s): van der Sluijs, Jeroen; Turkenburg, Wim

Number of pages: 25

Extract:

12. Climate change and the
precautionary principle
Jeroen van der Sluijs and Wim Turkenburg

INTRODUCTION

Scientific assessment of the risks of anthropogenic climate change has
shown that there is a reasonable concern for the possibility of irreversible
large-scale adverse effects in the long term. Examples of such effects are a
severe reduction or shutdown of the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic
current, accelerated species extinction and extreme sea level rise. But
deep scientific uncertainty on causality, timing, probability and magnitude
of such adverse effects persists. This meets all the criteria of the definition
of the Precautionary Principle (PP) proposed by von Schomberg (see
chapter 2, Box 2.1, in this volume):

Where, following an assessment of available scientific information, there are rea-
sonable grounds for concern for the possibility of adverse effects but scientific
uncertainty persists, provisional risk management measures based on a broad
cost-benefit analysis whereby priority will be given to human health and the
environment, necessary to ensure the chosen high level of protection in the
Community and proportionate to this level of protection, may be adopted,
pending further scientific information for a more comprehensive risk assess-
ment, without having to wait until the reality and seriousness of those adverse
effects become fully apparent.

In theory, the international community has acknowledged that the PP
needs to be invoked here. In Article 3.3 of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (United Nations FCCC, 1992) it is stated
that:

The Parties should take precautionary ...